


You Feel Like Home

by tigerbalmhealsall



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Beomgyu is in a band, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Kang Taehyun, Best Friends Huening Kai & Kang Taehyun, Fluff and Humor, Kang Taehyun is Bad at Feelings, Kang Taehyun-Centric, M/M, Soft Choi Soobin, Whipped Kang Taehyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28060122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerbalmhealsall/pseuds/tigerbalmhealsall
Summary: Taehyun is a first year in his second semester at University and so far his college experience has been completely uneventful. His first semester had passed by completely as he had expected. An endless drone of classes, assignments and all nighters. He had picked up a job at a cafe on campus a month into his studies at the suggestion of Beomgyu (who whined he never got to see him anymore) to help pay his tuition but also to break up the monotony between his courses.There was one highlight though of his dreary college experience, a regular visitor of the cafe named Soobin.Eventually, fed up with Taehyun's pining, Beomgyu devises a plot to actually get them to talk. It works and the two hit it off, but Taehyun starts to get nervous about these changes to his careful college routine.
Relationships: Choi Soobin & Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 28
Kudos: 60
Collections: TXT Secret Santa Fic Fest 2020





	1. Coffee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreaminglows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreaminglows/gifts).



> Hello! This is a fic for the TXT Secret Santa Exchange! Please check out the rest of the fics in this amazing collection <3
> 
> The prompt was "Taehyun works at a coffee shop that opens 24/7. Soobin is a regular customer who pulls out all-nighters inside the cafe. Taehyun thinks it's cute when Soobin accidentally falls asleep while trying to study, and decides to help him out one night when the cafe isn't too busy."
> 
> This is basically the first fic I've ever written and I'm very excited to share it!!
> 
> Dreaminglows, I hope you enjoy the fic. I honestly freaked out a bit when I found out you were my recipient hahaha, for me there's just more stress when I know the person rather than a complete stranger. But I had so much fun writing this!! I mean... Taebin... Coffee shop au... How could I not pick this prompt? Thank you so much for hosting this exchange, you've worked really hard to make this event great and we're all very grateful.  
> I love you a lot I'm really glad we know each other!!
> 
> If anyone wants to talk to me on twitter I'm @/txtarefurries !!

“You know, if it’s called a _tall,_ why is it the shortest?”

“What?” Taehyun turned from unloading the dishwasher towards Beomgyu.

“Like just listening to the words _tall_ and _grande_ , I can’t tell which is supposed to be the bigger of the two. And where does _venti_ even come from?” continued Beomgyu.

“Why does it matter, we don’t use those terms here.”

“Well why do you think it’s that way?”

“Tall rhymes with small.”

“Oh so like you.”

Taehyun flicked Beomgyu with the towel he’d been using to wipe dishes in response. It was 7pm and the two had just started their shift at the OtsuKafé. A typical Wednesday evening for Taehyun. Cleaning mugs and wiping the counter at his part time cafe job while Beomgyu chattered away. The subject matter would vary depending on what held his interest that week. The two had been friends since high school and Taehyun was used to Beomgyu’s random ramblings about aliens, parrots, or whatever he was obsessed with lately. Today, it would seem that Starbucks was his latest victim.

Beomgyu stopped his daily rant after noticing the door chime. “Ah evening classes are over, here come the zombies.”

A wave of tired students entered the cafe and soon the empty store was filled with students vying for a caffeine fix.

“He’s here again,” Beomgyu smirked, pointing his chin towards a tall boy entering the cafe. He held a small stack of books and a laptop to his chest, slouching over them in a way that made his large frame appear small. His messy hair was a faded silvery grey with a slight purple tinge, a remnant of the vibrant purple hair he had been sporting a few weeks ago. A thin pair of wire glasses framed his dark eye bags perfectly. Taehyun wondered for the hundredth time if this guy ever slept.

“How about today you finally talk to him! Do you want to switch and take his order and I’ll make the drinks?”

Taehyun grimaced. “You’re better at dealing with the zombies than I am.”

“Mm ok good good, actually!” Beomgyu turned with a cheeky grin. “You’ll be able to make his coffee with love then.”

Taehyun flicked the towel again at Beomgyu who yelped angrily, momentarily attracting the attention of some nearby cafe goers before they returned back to their studies. Taehyun moved into position to prepare drinks. From where he stood he could see the tall cafe goer at the back of the line, mindlessly blowing air into his cheeks. A charming habit Taehyun had noticed a couple weeks into his job. Five coffees, one cappuccino and three espressos later, it was the tall boy’s turn to order.

Beomgyu rattled off a long and energetic greeting, asking the man about his day, how the weather was today, if he knew what the hell venti stood for before finally- “so what can I get you today?”

“One large coffee please, black...” He had been sheepishly nodding and smiling the entire time Beomgyu had been speaking and gave his order in a soft low voice. Taehyun had heard this order many times, but his heart still fluttered a bit each time he heard him say those words.

Even though there was still a quarter pot left of the first batch, Taehyun grabbed a fresh pot of coffee and poured it into a mug he had set aside. He did his best to save this mug for the “dimpled zombie” as Beomgyu affectionately called him. It was slightly larger than the others and had a cute cat design that always seemed to make the man’s eyes light up.

“Enjoy,” Taehyun smiled, sliding the cup and saucer across the counter. The tall man returned the smile, his eyes crinkling into half moons. He had a smile that reached his eyes and it caused Taehyun to feel faint whenever he saw it.

“Thank you...” His words trailed off as he took the drink. Their hands brushed for a second and filled Taehyun’s imagination with a universe of possibilities and what ifs before they pulled away and carried on with their lives.

Taehyun sighed slightly and went back to pouring endless cups of coffee. Yes, it was a typical Wednesday evening. Clean while Beomgyu chatted before the evening rush, make drinks and enjoy the seconds long interaction with the cute cafe regular.

Taehyun was in the second semester of his first year of University, and so far his college experience had been completely uneventful. His first semester had passed by completely as he had expected. An endless drone of classes, assignments and all nighters. He had picked up the job at the cafe a month into his studies at the suggestion of Beomgyu (who whined he never got to see him anymore) to help pay his tuition but also to break up the monotony between his courses.

The cafe owner was an alumni of the university and had even played on their basketball team. A small corner of the cafe displayed pictures of students and alumni who frequented the cafe. There was even a picture of Taehyun and Beomgyu that had been taken on their first day. It felt strange being added there so suddenly, but the cafe quickly became a third home to Taehyun. First being his actual home back in Seoul and second being anywhere with Hueningkai, his best friend since daycare.

The OtsuKafé was a small shop just on the edge of campus. It wasn’t a study hot spot like the library or the larger cafes in the central area, but it had its regulars. It was open for 24 hours a day and had the best pastries on campus, Taehyun considered it a hidden gem and it seemed this boy did too.

Taehyun had seen him maybe once or twice at the cafe before he started working there, but didn’t start to notice the tall boy until around finals last semester. He had been appearing more frequently then, to the point where Taehyun saw him nearly every shift. His appearance quickly became the highlight of Taehyun’s shifts. He had a calm collected energy to him and Taehyun felt reassured just looking at him. Whenever he thanked Taehyun for his coffee with his surprisingly deep voice, Taehyun could tell he meant it.

The rest of Taehyun’s shift passed in its usual uneventful and completely predictable fashion. Midterms weren’t until the end of the month so no one stayed an unreasonably late amount. The cute cafe goer left around 9pm, returning his mug which he had refilled a total of five times during his stay and giving a soft wave goodbye to Beomgyu and Taehyun as he left.

“Ohhh he’s leaving earlier than usual, maybe he’s meeting someone?” Beomgyu teased Taehyun.

“Let’s restock everything now so Yoongi-hyung won’t have to do it when he’s alone later, can you check if the napkin holder is full?”

“Hmm I wonder what’s the latest he’s stayed here… Didn’t you say you saw him here until 2am once?”

“Do we need any more paper cups? We didn’t use many today but they might need some for lunch tomorrow.”

Beomgyu sidled over to the napkin holder with a groan. “You could at least answer my question. Or do you not know the answer?”

“Beomgyu, the napkins.”

“You know what, let’s collect everything we do know about him! Ok first off umm, he’s tall!” Beomgyu grabbed a napkin out of the container he was supposed to be refilling and scribbled down the information as if he had had some grand revelation.

“Beomgyu. The napkins.”

“Oh calm down there’s no one around anyways. Besides you know so little about him we have to collect what we do have.”

Taehyun sighed but relented. The sooner he indulged Beomgyu, the sooner they could actually get some work done.

After fifteen minutes they had compiled a pretty small and pitiful list:

  1. He’s tall (“Well no shit Gyu he’s tall anyone can see that!” Taehyun rolled his eyes.)
  2. He had dyed his black hair purple a few weeks ago and Taehyun nearly went into shock from how good he looked. (“It’s too bad it’s already faded so much but coloured hair is hard to maintain…” “Ugh wistful pining, disgusting” “Well let’s restock the napkins then” “No two things is not enough for a list!)
  3. He was a Psych major, which they learned from the textbooks he had.
  4. That he was a third year (“Which I found out for you from actually talking to him at the register thank you very much, told you you should take his order more,” Beomgyu smacked Taehyun’s shoulder.)
  5. And finally, that Taehyun was head over heels and that this was a place of business and his pining was grossing Gyu out.



“Why don’t you just ask him out?” Beomgyu slammed his pen down. “Slip him your number with his coffee and give him your winning smile! Not the one where you look like you want to murder someone if they try to leave without putting away their mugs.”

Taehyun knew Beomgyu was right but, asking him out? Taehyun couldn’t do that. He was perfectly content pining from afar.

Fortunately for Taehyun, the rest of his shift passed without Beomgyu pestering him. They spent the last couple hours restocking supplies, washing mugs and helping the odd night owl. Finally, at 12am they were free.

Yep, a typical Wednesday night.


	2. Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beomgyu starts a plot.

Taehyun had Thursdays off from the cafe to catch up on assignments but he was back to the coffee grind on Friday evening after two classes. His Friday evening shift was also passing in the typical fashion. Fridays were busier than Wednesdays. Students would come in groups and get drinks or pastries and socialize instead of study since it was the weekend and one had the illusion of relaxation before they had to cram everything they needed to complete on Sunday. Like always though, Beomgyu was chattering away.

“You know how Starbucks will put names on the cups?”

“Oh god Beomgyu, Starbucks again?”

“No wait, hear me out. See you’re head over heels with mister tall and handsome third year, this would be the perfect way to _at least_ learn his name.”

“The cafe uses a number system, and even then we only use that for food or if there’s a lot of special drinks at once. Besides those work best for disposable cups and we mainly use mugs.”

“Hoseok-hyung, what do you think?” Beomgyu ignored Taehyun and whirled around to face their manager who was making pastries in the kitchenette tucked away in the corner.

He laughed and patted flour off his hands. “Hmm, I’d have to ask Yoongi.”

Beomgyu and Taehyun continued to bicker in between taking orders and making drinks. Yoongi had once said the two were like a comedy duo and that they should join the cafe’s open mic nights. The two’s comedy act was eventually cut off by the usual arrival of a horde of zombies. One being the usual tall, dimpled one. Beomgyu joked that Taehyun should take his order. Typical. Taehyun would disagree and continue to prepare the drinks. Typical. Taehyun would stare at the tall boy blowing air into his cheeks while in line. Typical. Taehyun reached for the cat mug and pot of coffee. And Beomgyu would take his order of a typical-

“-vanilla latte.”

Beomgyu stopped, his hands hovering over the register. “Not your usual today?”

“Oh I’m just in the mood for something sweeter I guess…”

Beomgyu smiled widely. Taehyun always faked a smile when working the register but somehow Beomgyu’s was real. Beomgyu was the only person Taehyun knew who actually used a genuine smile on customers when he was working. “Of course! One latte coming right up! Can I get your name?”

Taehyun paused. _Oh my god he’s actually doing it._

“Oh umm…”

“Just for your order! We’re currently out of numbers.”

An outright lie. Taehyun could see the deck of playing cards they used for order numbers clearly sitting by the register.

“It’s umm… Soobin.”

“That will be right up for you Soobin!” Beomgyu smiled cheerily as he punched the order into the cash register. He looked pretty satisfied with himself, Taehyun would have to kill him later.

As soon as Soobin, that was a pretty name though, Soobin, left the counter Beomgyu whirled around. He mouthed something at Taehyun, his pretty features exaggerating the words to the point Taehyun had no clue what he was saying.

 _What?_ Taehyun mouthed back, annoyed.

“Do you know how to make latte art?” The words less mouthed this time, and more hissed, he punctuated each word by bringing his hands violently together in a heart shape. “MAKE. A. HEART!!!”

Taehyun gave Beomgyu an unimpressed look and started making the drink. He did in fact know how to make designs, Yoongi-hyung had taught him on a slow day at the cafe, but he never had much chance to use it as most of their patrons just wanted a quick fix of caffeine. Hearts were an easy design to do but Taehyun refused to indulge Beomgyu.

Taehyun poised the canister of steamed milk above the mug (a wider shallower one this time with a pretty blue pastel bow design) about to pour a standard leaf design to the top of the drink before he stole a quick glance at Soobin. He was standing a couple feet away from the bar, shoulders hunched as he poured over a textbook in his arms. His soft hair fell in his eyes and his glasses kept slipping down his nose. His nose scrunched up each time in an attempt to keep them from slipping all the way down. Seeing the man’s focused expression gave Taehyun an idea. Before he could talk himself out of it, Taehyun added a design to the top of the drink.

“One latte for Soobin,” he called out. Soobin snapped out of his trance at the sound of his name. His dark eyes blinked in confusion for a second at the sound of his name and he pushed back up his spectacles which had now slipped most of the way down his nose. Taehyun smiled at the design, _yeah this was a good choice._

“Thank you-” his usual nod and smile stopped as he registered the drink on the counter. He stared for a moment before softly murmuring. “Oh… that’s really cute…”

A small foam bunny sat on top of the latte, jiggling slightly from being set down on the counter.

“Enjoy,” Taehyun ducked his head and attempted to make his exit.

“Haha I’d feel bad drinking it, it’s so cute…”

Taehyun paused, could this be a chance to talk to him? Outside of the usual enjoy your drink barista formalities.

“Don’t feel bad, the heat will cause it to dissolve anyways, might as well enjoy it now.”

Soobin looked up surprised at Taehyun. _Crap, why did I say that…_

“Umm I mean,” He was cut off by a gentle laugh.

“That’s a really pragmatic way of looking at things, I guess you’re right,” Soobin chuckled.

He picked up the latte carefully, his eyes flitted sheepishly to Taehyun’s. He paused as if he was about to say something else, before pressing his lips together and saying “thank you.”

Soobin left to take his seat. Their seconds long interaction had stretched out to a minute today.

Taehyun stood there for a second, processing the exchange, and let out a soft sigh. Mystery boy- no Soobin- was really cute, studied hard and now, he had a nice laugh too.

“Beomgyu. If you have time to stare at me, you have time to clean a mug.”

At his table, Soobin gingerly set down the drink and his books. He looked fondly at the drink. “It will dissolve anyways huh…” He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket, adjusted the mug and took a picture. He gazed happily at the photo then back up to the cafe bar where the red headed barista continued to make drinks. “So cute…”

**~** ****

Taehyun crashed onto his bed as soon as he got back to his dorm, the full day of classes and work hitting him.

“How was work?” His roommate, Hueningkai asked cheerily, not looking up from his phone. No doubt he was watching anime or playing cookie run again instead of studying. 

Taehyun grumbled a reply into his pillow. Hueningkai wordlessly got up from his bed and into Taehyun’s, cuddling up next to him as he always did.

“Did the mystery customer show up again?”

“He always shows up, I think his only form of sustenance is caffeine,” Taehyun rolled over onto his side and wrapped his arms around his best friend, burying his face into his side.

“Mm, anything exciting happen?”

“Actually… Beomgyu had a plot this time.”

Taehyun explained the Starbucks pronged attack to which Hyuka let out a loud laugh.

“Oh that’s actually genius! So what is his name?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“C’mon Taehyunggieeeee I wanna know! Plus this campus is huge, what are the chances I’ll even know who he is.”

“Exactly, so why does it matter.”

Kai whined a bit more but relented and went back to playing on his phone.

Taehyun and Hueningkai had been the best of friends for as long as Taehyun could remember, Taehyun would go so far to say that they were soulmates. He normally would tell him everything, but part of him liked teasing Hueningkai by leaving out details and the other part was embarrassed by how large of a crush he had developed on someone he barely knew.

The two stayed in Taehyun’s bed for a bit, silently recharging each other from the long tiring day before getting ready for bed. Ready for a brief weekend of rest before the drone of school and work started up again next week.

~

Taehyun was back at the cafe the following week. It was a slower shift than usual but Soobin was there like always. Soobin had ordered the latte again, and Taehyun did a latte art of a squirrel. Or his best attempt to, the face had squished a bit.  
Taehyun let out an awkward laugh. “Sorry the design isn’t as successful this time.”  
“I still think it’s cute,” Soobin replied. Taehyun waved his hand in denial. Soobin paused and glanced at the barista. “It kind of looks like you-”

The sentence was cut off by the cafe’s entrance bell and a loud cheerful greeting. Hueningkai had popped by today. He waved and greeted Taehyun as he entered the cafe.

Soobin turned towards the noise. “Oh, hello Huening!”

To Taehyun’s surprise, Soobin was greeting his roommate.

“Ah Soobin-hyung, how are you today?”

The two started chatting while Taehyun stared dumbstruck. _Wait... Kai knows him?_ The thought was cut short by Hueningkai calling Taehyun once again.

“Oh that’s adorable Taehyunnie you made that? I want one too!”

“Huening you don’t even like coffee,” Beomgyu butted in from the other side of the cafe.

“Ah you’re right ok ummmmm I’ll have….. an egg tart.” Hueningkai made his way over to the register.

“An egg tart? You’re in a cafe dummy, are you even going to order a drink?”

“Ahh Beomgyu-hyung I’m just not in the mood for a drink, plus I haven’t had one of Hobi-hyung’s egg tarts in so long.”

Beomgyu grumbled as he got the egg tarts for the younger boy but Taehyun knew he couldn’t resist anything Kai asked of him. He noticed he gave him a couple extras, though he doubted Hoseok would mind, the man was also very fond of the boy.

“Don’t you have class now Kai?” Taehyun asked.

“Ahh!!! You’re right ok see you later Taehyunnieeeee~ it was nice to see you too Soobinnie-hyung!! I’ll see you on Thursday!” Hueningkai left the cafe in a hurry, clutching the bag of egg tarts.

Taehyun was so caught up by the younger boy’s chaotic energy that he hadn’t noticed Soobin staring at them the whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter names are song titles because I'm cheesy lol. I made a ghosting-focused Taebin playlist for this fic, you can listen here if you'd like <3  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0nrwxGnMEIETmCsRzW6KFJ?si=_AAOC0g_TyeDBg4sJv42SQ


	3. Two Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soobin and Taehyun start to become closer.

Beomgyu had a band rehearsal the next day. They had a performance coming up and Taehyun would kill Beomgyu if he skipped homework to practice (he already had enough trouble dealing with Hueningkai) so Taehyun agreed to handle the shift alone. Luckily it was a slow night and it seemed like only their die hard studying regulars were there, Soobin being one of them.

Soobin approached the counter and smiled at Taehyun.

“Hi, the usual coffee or a latte today?”

“Actually I was thinking I might try something else. The lattes have been really nice, I really enjoyed them. They made me realize though that I come here so often and I’ve barely tried the menu. Do you have any suggestions?”

“I guess it depends on what you want, would you prefer something sweeter or with more caffeine?”

“Hmm I don’t need to study super late today so I don’t need as much caffeine.”

“Ok, how about a cappuccino? It’s similar to a latte but the espresso and milk are balanced out. Plus, I can try and make a design again, hopefully it will turn out better than the squirrel,” Taehyun laughed.

“That sounds great.”

“Ok, I just need a minute to steam some milk. We haven't had any orders for that yet, why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring it out to you?”

“Oh sure if it’s no trouble to you,” Soobin rubbed his neck shyly.

Soobin took his seat and Taehyun turned his attention back to work. Unfortunately he couldn’t get the consistency of the milk mixture quite right and ended up making a simple leaf design to cover up his mistakes. He brought the drink out to Soobin who had already pulled out all his study materials in the few minutes it had taken Taehyun to prepare the order.

Soobin thanked him and took a sip. “Wahhh that’s really good.”

“The leaf design is kind of boring sorry, but I mostly just do designs for the lattes.”

“I think they’re cool, how do you do them?”

“Oh it’s just steamed milk that’s poured on top, the way you pour it makes a pattern. So for this it’s just some dots then a line down the middle.”

“That first rabbit you made for me was really cute, how did you do that one?”

“Oh yeah that one isn’t too complicated actually. You just kind of wiggle an oval then go down to make the ears and pour more on the bottom to make a circle for the head,” Taehyun mimed the motion as he spoke. “Then I used a stick to poke the eyes and nose in with the coffee mixture.”

“Yeah that one was really nice, it really brightened up my day. I umm… actually made it my wallpaper, see?” He turned his phone towards Taehyun, sure enough, his bunny design sat on the screen.

“Oh really? Wow I’m flattered.”

“Haha well you said it would dissolve anyways so I wanted to preserve it.”

Taehyun blushed, he still couldn’t believe that comment hadn’t blown up on him. Soobin set his phone down gently and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. Every movement he made was so soft. In the quiet hum of the cafe, he felt so natural and in his element, like he belonged there. Taehyun wondered if he could belong with him.

“Do you need to get back to something or can you take a break?” Soobin asked.

“Huh?”

“Ah well, it just seems like you’re the only one here tonight and there were a few orders before me... Have you taken a break yet?” Soobin’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Oh. No I haven’t yet.”

An awkward tension hung in the air. Both boys thinking the same thing but too shy to suggest it.

Soobin made a small gesture that could have been interpreted as an invitation to sit down. Taehyun hesitated and took the seat across from the older boy and the tension eased.

“Psychology huh?” He gestured towards the stack of heavy textbooks on the table.

“Ah yeah, I’d like to be a counselor.”

“Wow that’s really admirable, what kind of things do you study then? Like human behaviour, emotions?”

“It’s actually mostly studying data from experiments and researchers, and like analyzing how to do it better? We do have classes about… emotions though. I guess that’s what people probably think about when they think of psychology.”

“Haha yeah my first thought is giving people therapy,” Taehyun perched forward in his chair. “So, how do you know Huening? He mentioned he’d see you around?”

“Oh we have a class together. It’s a course about different art eras and how they influenced public sentiments and like how art can influence emotions,” Soobin made a vague gesture in the air with his hand. “It’s mostly reading and discussion so Huening doesn’t like it a ton though hahaha.”

“Ahh yeah it’s impossible to get that boy to study sometimes.”

“So Hueningkai is your?” Soobin curiously took a sip of his drink.

“Roommate. But we’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember, he’s practically my brother.”

“Oh really? That’s great,” Soobin hid his smile behind his mug.

“Ha yeah as much as I bug him I don’t know what I’d do without him sometimes. I guess he’s the one who always helps me talk out what’s bothering me…” Taehyun picked at a stain on the table. “So why did you choose psychology then?”

“Hmm I guess I’ve just always liked helping people. I’m pretty introverted but I like to listen to people and I feel like I can understand people really well. My friends came to me for advice often too, so it just felt right to go into psychology. I also considered teaching when I was deciding what to study though, so I might prefer working with kids but we’ll see.” Soobin set the cup down and stared at a spot behind Taehyun’s head.

“I just find people really fascinating and you can learn so much from others, whether from just observing them or talking to them directly. Everyone is so different and they handle things differently and if I can help them learn the best way to help themselves and know I was able to help someone… Well I haven’t done anything like that yet obviously but I hope too,” He jerked up suddenly and covered his mouth in embarrassment. “Oh… that was really long winded I’m sorry about that.”

“Oh no, don't worry about it!” Taehyun smiled, in fact he had actually found the boy’s rambling to be quite endearing. He obviously loved his major if he was here so often studying and to hear him talk about it with such energy made Taehyun’s heart clench.

“Oh my gosh I didn’t even ask for your name I’m so sorry. You’re… Taehyunnie right? Or that’s what Huening called you. Ah well I guess you already know my name but... I’m Choi Soobin, third year psychology major.” He stuck out his hand to Taehyun.

“Yeah it’s Taehyun… Kang Taehyun. First year mathematics,” Taehyun accepted his hand. He stared into Soobin’s wide dark eyes. They always seemed to be rimmed with dark circles but they still sparked with warmth and life. “It’s nice to meet you, Soobin.”

~

“Come on Taehyunnie just tell me already!” Hueningkai whined loudly.

“Shhhh I’m getting to it!” Taehyun looked around them. The two had met up to study in the library between their morning and afternoon classes. Luckily Hueningkai’s outburst hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. “Anyways. You know how I said it was doubtful you knew the mystery cafe goer… well, it would seem like you do.”

“What I do!! Who is it, oh umm is it.” Hueningkai tapped his fingers against the table as his mind cycled through all the possibilities before his eyes bugged out, figuring it out. “Soobin is the cute cafe customer!?!?!?”

“Keep it down!”

Taehyun ducked behind his textbook and quickly looked side to side to see if anyone had heard them. Luckily the only person nearby was a student passed out on a couch. He let out an annoyed huff of air and pushed his hair off his forehead.

“Yes, it would appear you do know him, he said you have a class together?”

“Yeah it’s an elective open to all years. It’s about art and emotions and we talk a bit about philosophy. He told me he was interested because he wanted to learn more about the benefits of art therapy.”

God he really was just getting sweeter and sweeter the more Taehyun learned about him

“You were worried he has a crush on me weren’t you. Well I wouldn’t blame him, I am super cute, but good news for you, we are just friends and he is very single~” Hueningkai poked at Taehyun’s arm playfully.

“Do you draw in that class at all? What’s his art like?”

“Art’s such a deep and personal thing! I can’t just tell you about it without his permission,” Hyuka smirked from across the table. _I guess this is his payback for me not telling him anything._

“Ok well that was a short conversation,” Taehyun turned back to his book.

“Ah wait no I want to hear more!”

“Isn’t your next art history module due next week? Shouldn’t you be working on that.”

“Ughhh it’s renaissance this week, I don’t understand why every art history course is so obsessed with these white dudes and their bible fanart. The day art majors offer an anime course is the day I will actually enjoy studying,” Hueningkai crossed his arms on the table and flopped his head into them. He looked at his book from that position and half heartedly leafed through the pages. There was no way he could read from that angle but Taehyun let it slide.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Hueningkai spoke again.

“We don’t draw much in that course, it’s a lot of readings and if we do make art it’s more about relating to the concepts we’re learning than creating work.”

Taehyun glanced up from his laptop as Hueningkai flipped slowly through his textbook, obviously not reading what was on the pages.

“You can tell he’s not an art major but he tries really hard and puts a lot of himself in his work. We keep a daily journal thing that we can sketch, write, whatever we want in. He showed me a few pages once and you could tell that he bared his soul on those pages. He’s a quiet and shy guy but he always seems interested if you talk to him and he’ll always help you out if you need. He’s definitely saved me a couple times with the readings,” He broke the end of that solemn speech with his dolphin laugh.

Taehyun had been listening intently but rolled his eyes at the last sentence and Hueningkai’s flippant attitude about his academic courses.

The two went back to studying but Taehyun’s thoughts kept wandering back to Soobin and what Hueningkai had said. The cafe goer was always deeply immersed in his studies, you could tell that each word his eyes poured over in his books was being processed and understood fully. Despite the tall man’s meek exterior, there was an intensity behind his eyes when he focused that Taehyun had never seen in anyone before.

“Taehyunnieee, what are you thinking about?” Hueningkai propped his cheeks on his hands and grinned at Taehyun from across the table.

“Just compiling the statistics of businesses that opened during the Olympics,” He wrote a few notes down. “Stop smirking Kai.”

“Someone has a cruuush~”

Taehyun flushed and angrily went back to organizing his notes.

“But awwwww that’s great!! I approve, Soobinnie-hyung’s a really great guy, he’s so sweet and gentle. And oh my god the height difference between you two is to die for.”

“Stop calling me short.”

Hueningkai kept gushing about all the ways Soobin and Taehyun would make the perfect couple. Taehyun tuned him out and focused back on his research papers. But he couldn’t help it as his thoughts drifted away from statistics and back to all the things he wanted to learn about Soobin.

Soobin preferred his coffee black while Taehyun drank his with cream. He went with his emotions while Taehyun thought through every possibility. He was as sweet as the mochi at the cafe while Taehyun was as bitter as the coffee Soobin ordered everyday.

They seemed so different but being around Soobin felt easy.

His next shift was in two days, the older boy would definitely be there, Taehyun hoped he would get the chance to talk again.


	4. Day and Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soobin falls asleep while studying at the cafe and Taehyun decides to help him out.

It was late.

Taehyun swept coffee grounds off the bar floor as soft music played in the near empty cafe. He was the only one scheduled that night, he generally worked these late night shifts alone since it wasn’t too busy. But of course, Soobin was there. Although, now that Taehyun thought about it, he hadn’t noticed much activity recently in the corner where Soobin was. Taehyun leaned over the counter and peered around the corner to see the elder boy slumped over his textbooks, face down in an open book, fast asleep.

Taehyun tiptoed over.

“Umm Soobin? Are you awake?” He whispered. He immediately felt dumb, obviously the older boy was not awake.

Taehyun tentatively reached out his hand then hesitated. His hand hovered over Soobin’s shoulder. He looked so peaceful, Taehyun didn’t want to disturb him, but he figured if he was in this situation he would want someone to wake him up. Plus the position he had fallen asleep in did not seem kind to his back.

He lightly tapped Soobin’s shoulder and he jerked up with a start.

Taehyun stumbled back, surprised by the intense reaction. “Hey… are you ok?”

“Huh?” Soobin fumbled with his glasses and put them back on. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry I fell asleep here.”

“No no don’t worry about it… I wasn’t sure if I should wake you or not, it doesn’t seem like you get much sleep, I see you here so often… but that didn’t seem like a very comfortable position,” Taehyun stuttered. Soobin hair stuck up on one side and his nose scrunched while he blinked the sleep from his eyes. _Oh god he really is too cute, he looks just like a sleepy bunny_.

“Ah well I’ll grab quick naps here and there between classes or on the bus. Definitely not getting as much as I should but that’s the college life I guess,” Soobin awkwardly shuffled the books off his laptop. “Sorry for the trouble, thank you for waking me,” He dipped his head in a quick bow of thanks and adjusted the glasses on his nose once more before diverting his attention back to his work.

Taehyun mumbled a reply and was about to turn away but hesitated.

“Do you want some help?”

“Huh, oh no I couldn’t bother you.”

“It’s alright, it’s really dead tonight and I’ve done all the cleaning already,” Taehyun assured him and sat down before he could protest further. “Obviously I don’t know anything about psychology but I’d consider myself to be pretty studious, plus I always help Huening so I’m used to it. So what are you studying tonight?”

Soobin gathered the scattered papers on his table in a pile. “I’m actually doing some stats work today so you’d probably be a great help, math is definitely not my strong suit.”

“Oh great. Memorizing or compiling?”

“I have to compare some stuff, but mostly memorizing some data from studies.”

“I find what works best for me is repetition, and having someone help quiz me. I don’t see you in study groups much, do you usually study alone?” Taehyun pulled Soobin’s notes towards him.

“Yeah… my roommate helps out sometimes but I can’t concentrate well in groups”

“That’s fair, to each their own.”

After a brief explanation of the data he was studying that night, the two went to work. Taehyun sorted through Soobin’s notes for him as he discussed the different findings with him and some tricks to remember the numbers. After helping him identify the most important parts of the research he pulled a stack of index cards from his own bag and started writing flashcards for the boy.

“I’m not sure if you usually go this route, but I find having these and being able to pull them out whenever I need to refresh helps me out a lot. Plus it’s kinder on the eyes than staring at a phone or laptop all the time,” He proudly held up a yellow card with neat blue writing on it. “I read once that yellow helps you remember things. Not sure if it’s true but I think they’re more fun than plain index cards.”

Soobin took the card with glee. “Ahh thank you so much. It’s been a while since I’ve used these but trying a new method might help me focus, I’ve kind of felt like I’ve been in a rut recently. Well these will spice up my studying. I feel like the coolest kid on campus right now!”

Taehyun snorted, who knew this serious psychology student could be such a dork. He understood what Soobin meant by feeling in a rut though. He had been so excited when he started at University but he quickly felt like he had fallen into an endless routine. But he was also so used to his comfortable routine now that he couldn’t fathom breaking from it.

Taehyun twirled the pen in his hands, mindlessly spinning it behind his hand and out of sight and back again.

“Whoa how did you do that!”

“Hm?”

“Just now, you made your pen disappear,” Soobin drummed the table with his fingers, an excited smile on his face.

“Oh that, that was just a sleight of hand trick. I learned how to do magic tricks as a hobby.”

“It’s so cool,” Soobin gestured towards the poster advertising the open mic night on the adjacent wall. “Have you ever performed at that?”

“Oh god no it’s just a little hobby I picked up. It's nothing impressive.”

“I think it’s cool, I’d love to watch. Do you know any other tricks?”

“Umm,” Taehyun flushed, he never showed off to others but Soobin looked so eager he couldn’t resist him. “Yeah one sec.”

Taehyun grabbed the stack of playing cards from next to the register. It wasn’t a full deck but it would do.

“Basic I know but,” he shuffled the deck and held it out to Soobin, “pick a card, any card!” He added on with a flourish.

Soobin laughed. “Hmm I choose… this one.”

“Ok take a look at it but don’t show me, make sure you memorize it.”

Soobin slid it out of the deck and stared at it. His upturned lips formed a smile which highlighted his dimples. He returned the card to the deck. “Ok got it!”

Taehyun reshuffled the deck and laid the cards out on the table.

“Ok Soobin, is THIS your card?” He flipped over the card in the middle to reveal a four of spades.

“Oh… sorry Taehyun but no that’s not my card,” Soobin laughed.

“Oh really? Hmm I was so sure…” Taehyun brought his hand up to his chin and pursed his lips. “Oh wait I remember! I left your card right here,” Taehyun reached behind Soobin’s ear and flicked a card from behind his sleeve. He held the two of hearts up for Soobin to see. “Is this your card?”

Soobin stared at Taehyun dumbstruck. “Whoa, that was pretty cool. Great acting too, you had me fooled.”

“Ninety percent of magic tricks come down to showmanship.”

Soobin took the card from Taehyun’s hand. He rubbed the heart in the corner with his thumb and smiled. “You’re full of surprises Taehyun… It’s really amazing,” He looked up at Taehyun, his eyes softened.

Taehyun flushed from all the compliments.

Taehyun cleared his throat and tapped his pen against Soobin’s notes. “Anyways can you tell me the rate of success for this experiment?” 

The two continued studying. At one point another night owl appeared and Taehyun took their order but returned to Soobin after once again.

“Well latte art is nice and all, but if we’re going to be here all night we’re going to need something stronger. Here, on the house,” He set Soobin’s usual black coffee on the table.

“Ah Taehyun I can’t accept that you’re already helping me out.”

“It’s fine, we give out a lot of free refills around exam time anyways, try to help out students any way we can.”

Soobin accepted the coffee with a smile and took a sip. “Do you always work night shifts?”

“I didn’t do many last semester but I’ve been picking them up more recently. I find I’m always up late anyways but I more or less get enough sleep and well if I don’t, there’s a lot of coffee here,” Taehyun grinned widely. “Benefits of the job is they’ll supply sleep deprived college students like me with caffeine”

“Well, this sleep deprived college student is very grateful for this gift,” Soobin raised the mug in a cheer.

“So is there a particular reason why you always order coffee?” Taehyun asked.

“Honestly it’s just the simplest way to get caffeine, I find espresso doesn’t do well for me if I want to be productive for hours.”

“You know it’s a lot cheaper to just make your own coffee then.”

“Oh but Taehyunnie… How would I see you then?” Soobin pouted his lips and gave him a puppy dog stare.Taehyun flushed a bit at the comment but played it cool. “Ok but for real I just like studying here, have been since first year, wouldn’t be very nice of me to bring in my own coffee then huh?”

Taehyun giggled, “That’s a fair point.”

“You’ve worked here a while so you’ve probably tasted most of the drinks, what’s your favourite?”

“Hmmm guess,” Taehyun crossed his arms on the table and smiled.

“Umm,” Soobin looked at the large chalkboard displaying the menu above the bar for guidance. “Americanos?”

“Oh no I hate americanos, they’re so bitter.”

Soobin smiled, looking down at the mug in his hands. “Hmm yeah I can see why someone as sweet as you wouldn’t like something so bitter,” Soobin paused, his drink frozen halfway to his mouth. “Umm...”

Taehyun malfunctioned. _Did he really just say that?_

The door jingled and Yoongi stepped in. Taehyun sprang up from his chair and made his way back to the bar, nervously greeting his boss and apologizing for not working. Secretly he was glad for the exit.

Yoongi gave him a puzzled look as he stared at the clean and empty cafe. “It’s alright kid there isn’t much to do during these skeleton shifts, but if you want you can help me get some pastries ready for the day before you leave.”

At 4am Taehyun's shift ended and Soobin decided he was done studying for the night. Yoongi waved the two off as he continued making pastries for the day. The two walked along the campus in silence until they reached where they would be separating. Soobin stopped and broke the silence before they parted.

“Hey Taehyun, thank you a lot, I really appreciate it,” He was still clutching the flash cards in his hands.

“Yeah I’m glad I could help,” Taehyun looked down at his feet.

The two said goodbye and left, Taehyun towards the dorms and Soobin off-campus.

~

Soobin stared at Taehyun as he walked away. His bright red hair illuminated by the dim street lights.

Soobin had always thought the red head barista was cute and had a really pretty smile and yes he sometimes found himself lost in his wide eyes... but he was too preoccupied with school to even think about dating or entertain these thoughts further. But now that he was getting to know Taehyun and seeing him more, he was achingly beautiful.

Soobin was still lost in thought when he made it back to his apartment. His roommate, Yeonjun, glanced up from a paper he was reading when he entered.

“Welcome home, how was your day.”

“Oh it was… really nice actually,” Soobin stammered.

“Oh?” Yeonjun perked up and tossed his paper aside. “Why? Did something happen?”

Soobin sat down on the couch next to Yeonjun, curling his legs up and sitting sideways to face him. “Well I went to study at the cafe like usual.”

“The one near the edge of campus right?”

“Yeah, with the rose mochi,” Soobin paused, a slight giggle escaped his lips and he covered his mouth. Why did he feel so giddy? “But umm yeah I was at the cafe and-”

Yeonjun grinned, “Well you’re certainly acting happy.”

“ANYWAYS. I went there to study and… Well it’s usually the same barista who works there and I’ve been talking to him more recently…”

“Ooooh is this a romantic encounter I hear? And at a cafe too, how cliché I love it,” Yeonjun pinched Soobin’s cheeks.

“No no no nothing like that!” Soobin slapped the elder boy’s hands away. “We were just talking and… He ended up helping me study...” Soobin’s eyes softened, daydreaming about the encounter. “Wow he’s really sweet. He always seemed nice but he went out of his way to help me which is so thoughtful… And ah! I showed you my phone wallpaper but he was the one who made it for me! His eyes sparkled when we talked... I swear I’ve never seen eyes like his before.”

Yeonjun stuck his tongue in his cheek and smirked. “Is this the same barista you had a gay breakdown over because his hair was curled one day and you couldn’t function on your paper about child development?”

“I did that?”

“Yes, I remember because I made an excellent comeback about how you’re such a baby that you’d understand your subject matter better.”

“What no you’re lying I didn’t do that, that was probably something you did.”

“And why my dear Soobin would I be writing a paper about child development?”

“I don’t know maybe for that course about-”

“You’re changing the subject, stop it!” Yeonjun pushed Soobin’s arm. “Well?”

“Well what.”

“WELL,” Yeonjun drew out the syllable and wobbled his head. “Are you going to ask him out?”

“What! No I couldn’t do that!”

“What? Of course you can. Aren’t you an adult? Ask! him!! out!!!” Yeonjun shook Soobin with each word.

“Ya ya! Ok I get it stop with the violence ok?”

Yeonjun let go of Soobin and smirked. “What would you do without me and my amazing advice?”

“Probably have less neck pain.”

~

Taehyun had a short break between his two morning courses. Rather than bother trying to find a spot to study, he used this time to get a bit of relaxation in. After all, he would be more productive and learn more if he was in good health. He sat against a tree, headphones on when someone appeared next to him. It was Soobin.

“Hey… anyone sitting here?”

Taehyun smiled and gestured for him to sit next to him. Soobin pulled out a book and Taehyun returned to his music. After a few moments Soobin closed the book and looked around as if pondering something deeply. He took a breath and clenched the book into his body.

Taehyun saw Soobin fidgeting and paused his music. He slid off his headphones. “Is something wrong?”

“Ah nope! Nothing,” Soobin flipped the book back open and stared down at its contents for a couple seconds before snapping it shut again.

“Hi umm Taehyun yeah umm.”

“...Hi Soobin,” A smile spread slowly on Taehyun’s face. He hadn’t seen the older boy this flustered before.

“Yes umm…” Soobin stared down at the grass for a few moments. “How are midterms going for you?” He finally managed to squeak out.

Soobin could smack himself. _Seriously? All that just to ask about midterms?_

“I mean umm. Are you busy? Like with classes and working at the cafe… do you have any free time for yourself?”

Taehyun wondered if this was casual conversation or a roundabout way of asking him out.

“I mean there’s definitely a lot to do, but I do have time here and there.”

“Ok ok. Would you… like to maybe,” Soobin could choke himself right now. Why were the words so hard to force out? Luckily, Taehyun saved him.

“My friend Beomgyu, the loud one at the cafe, he’s in a band. They’re performing this Saturday if you want to come with me?”

“Oh umm yes I’d love to.”

“Great, we can meet up at 8,” They exchanged numbers.

Taehyun got up. “I have to run to class now but I’ll see you then?”

“Yeah… I’m really looking forward to it,” Soobin smiled.

Taehyun bid him farewell and left. He shook his head as he left, he couldn’t believe he had handled it that smoothly.


	5. It's Nice To Have A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soobin and Taehyun go on a maybe date. Hueningkai and Yeonjun are the best wingmen, Beomgyu not so much.

“So are you nervous for your big date?” Hueningkai smirked.

“It’s not a date.” Taehyun fixed his hair in the grimy bathroom mirror. Beomgyu’s gig was at a small bar a few minutes away from the campus. It was a popular place for parties amongst the students and Taehyun suspected the unkempt aesthetic was done on purpose to appear trendy. Despite the griminess, it had a desperate charm to it.

“At least not yet it’s not.”

Taehyun smiled and finished up with his hair. “Well, we’ll see about that.”

Taehyun and Hueningkai left the bathroom to find Beomgyu and wish him luck. They found him bickering with his bandmate, Ryujin, at a table off to the side of the stage.

“I dunno man, seems kind of suspicious that there’s only one dude in a band full of girls,” Ryujin joked.

“What? How am I suspicious I have the face of an innocent angel,” He countered.

“So why are you in a band full of girls Beomgyu?” Jinsoul asked. She wiggled her fingers in a wave at Taehyun and Hueningkai.

“Because! I am a feminist and love to support women.”

“Really? I figured it was because you were gay,” Ryujin stated.

“But you’re gay too?” Beomgyu blurted out.

“And so it would appear you two have the same reason for being in this band, now can we please get ready to go on stage?” Hyejoo sighed.

“Yes thank you Hyejoo I couldn’t agree more!” He noticed Taehyun and Hueningkai. “Ohh Taehyun! Good luck with your date!” He shot him a finger gun. “I helped set them up you know.” He muttered smugly to his bandmates.

“Wait, you have a date? With who?” Jinsoul asked.

“It’s not a date,” Taehyun shooed Beomgyu towards the stage. “We’re sitting in those booths across from the bar, meet us there after.”

Hueningkai and Taehyun wound their way to the back of the club to a set of booths. They squeezed in and Taehyun pushed away the leaves of a fake plant that dangled over his head. Hueningkai and Beomgyu had discussed their seating plan in great detail. The booths didn’t have as great a view of the stage as the tables and floor up near the front but they offered a bit more privacy and less noise so it would be easier to hold a conversation. The booths were also a half circle instead of a standard rectangle table, so the two people in the middle would have to sit next to each other. ‘Obviously, that will be you and Soobin,’ Beomgyu had smirked before high fiving Hueningkai. The amount of thought the two had put into this astounded Taehyun. He was touched but also annoyed that the two couldn’t put this much work into their assignments.

“What if a booth hadn’t been available?” Taehyun asked Hueningkai.

“Stand near the stage until we saw one become available. But Beomgyu also asked Sunghoon to try and keep one free for us.”

Taehyun peered over at the bar where a tall handsome boy worked. He gave Taehyun a thumbs up.

Taehyun leaned back into the booth and sighed. How many people were going to get involved in his love life.

“What if Soobin doesn’t take the seat next to me?”

“He’s not an idiot Taehyun, he's going to take the seat next to you.”

Taehyun’s phone lit up. Speak of the devil.

He texted Soobin where they were sitting. A minute later he appeared with another boy in tow. Soobin was wearing a blue button down, dark jeans and a long beige jacket. He looked way too proper for a setting like this. His friend fit in better. His blonde hair was covered by a black beanie and he wore a long leather jacket over an all black ensemble. Chic, thick black frames rimmed his eyes. Which made Taehyun notice.

“You’re not wearing your glasses,” He said to Soobin.

“Oh, no I mostly just wear those when I study,” Soobin replied.

“You look different, I mean not in a bad way!”

“Umm thanks? I guess,” Soobin laughed. He swirled his finger around his head. “Umm your hair, it’s also different. It... it looks nice.”

Taehyun pulled a strand of his permed hair. “Oh yeah it is… umm I mean yeah I curled it thanks.”

Hueningkai elbowed Taehyun under the table. Yeah that was kind of a stupid thing to say first. The two squirmed out of the booth.

“Soobin I guess you already know us all but,” Taehyun smiled at Soobin’s friend, “I’m Taehyun and this is Hueningkai.”

“Great to meet you! I’m Yeonjun,” He shook the boy’s hands.

“Yeonjun-hyung is my roommate. We met in first year and just kind of hit it off.”

Taehyun and Hueningkai got back in the booth. Taehyun sat in the middle as discussed. Yeonjun was standing closer to the booth’s entrance than Soobin was but he discreetly took a step back, slipping off his jacket and hanging it up so Soobin could slide into the booth before him. Hueningkai smiled and looked into the opposite direction. Taehyun could hear him think _I told you so._

Taehyun kept his hands firmly clasped in his lap. Soobin slid next to him but left a gap wide enough for another person. The group sat silently for a few seconds before Yeonjun spoke.

“So your friend is performing? When are they on?”

“They’re after this performance. He’s a music major, he’s part of a band with some of his classmates,” Hueningkai answered.

“Oh wow that’s so cool. So what do you two study then?”

“I’m a first year visual arts major. Soobin-hyung and I have an elective together, that’s how we know each other.”

“Oh the one about emotions and art? Yeah he’s told me about it before. Wow I bet you’re super talented I’d love to see some of your work,” Yeonjun cupped his face in his hands and smiled at the boy from across the table. “Do you enjoy the course? I know Soobin really likes it, he says it’s a nice break from his psych courses.”

“Hahaha it’s the opposite for me. I’d love to just have studio classes. I hate having to read and think for that class ugh.”

Yeonjun laughed at the younger boy’s blunt answer. “Well thinking is important too, believe it or not. What about you Taehyun?”

“Oh I’m in mathematics, first year.”

“Wow so you’re the thinker out of the two of you then. Do you like it?”

“Oh it’s umm, it’s alright,” Taehyun rubbed his hands. “What do you study Yeonjun-ssi?”

The boy’s answer was cut off by a loud cheer.

“Thank you everyone that was ‘resentment, shame, humiliation’ by Jay! Let’s hear another round of applause!” The crowd cheered again as a bubbly MC gestured towards the performer on stage.

“Ohh here we go!” Hueningkai whispered excitedly.

“Our next performer is Bring the Soul! Can we _bring_ in another round of applause for them?”

Hueningkai let out a loud whooo and jumped up from his chair. He clapped loudly as the four walked on stage.

“Thank you! Ladies and Beomgyu, looking radiant as always.”

“Aww thanks Sunoo, I have a girlfriend,” Jinsoul said.

“And I have a boyfriend, you’re not special,” He waved at Sunghoon at the bar who covered his face in embarrassment.

Jinsoul laughed and took the mic. “Hello everyone, thank you for coming here tonight! I’m Jinsoul, this is Ryujin, Hyejoo and Beomgyu and we are…”

“BRING THE SOUL!” The group yelled, Beomgyu and Ryujin doing their best to out yell each other while Hyejoo let out a deflated cheer half a beat late.

Ryujin tapped her drumsticks in the air before launching into a drum beat. The band started playing with her, perfectly in sync. An exhilarated energy swept across the bar as the band filled the space with music. The group’s conversation fell to the sidelines as they all became immersed in the performance on stage.

Despite the excited energy, a strange wave of calm washed over Taehyun. Listening to Beomgyu play, with Hueningkai screaming next to him, felt familiar and put him at ease. It distracted him from the scary fact that he could be on a date with a guy that he had started to really like.

He snuck a glance at Soobin. The dim lights of the bar cast a blue tint across his amazed face. He watched the stage with rapt attention, his upturned lips opened in a soft oh. His deep brown eyes reflected the stage lights, it looked like they were filled with stars.

_He’s really beautiful._

The band continued to perform and Jinsoul’s clear vocals guided them into the bridge.

“I gotta take you into our moonlight, before I let you inside of my heart oh oh oh oh.”

“Oh oh oh oh,” Beomgyu echoed.

Hueningkai smiled fondly. “Ah they’re all so amazing at what they do.”

Taehyun nodded. As much as he ragged on Beomgyu, the boy was more serious than he let on, and music was the thing he took the most seriously.

The band finished their first song, then without missing a beat jumped into an upbeat Taylor Swift cover. Taehyun, Soobin and Hueningkai started to chat as they listened to the music. Taehyun was really grateful Hueningkai was there. He always seemed to know what to say to keep the conversation flowing and his friendship with Taehyun and Soobin helped to bridge the gap between them.

Taehyun relaxed as the group talked about how the year had been going. Hueningkai brought up all the all-nighters Taehyun had coached him through (“You’d pull less if you stopped procrastinating,” Taehyun chided) and all the help Soobin had given him. The talk about assignments was starting to get dry so much to Taehyun’s chagrin, Hueningkai launched into embarrassing stories from his and Taehyun’s childhood.

Beomgyu stepped to the centre of the stage and started to play an acoustic song.

Hueningkai turned to Yeonjun, eyes wide and sparkling. “This one’s my favourite.”

Beomgyu sang. It was a much more subdued performance than the previous energetic songs but the group held the audience’s attention just as strongly. Under the stage lights, with sweat beading his forehead, Beomgyu gave it his all. Taehyun was really proud of him, he couldn’t imagine putting himself out there like Beomgyu does. And as much as he hated to admit it, Beomgyu had played a large part in getting this date to happen.

Bring the Soul’s set finished and the crowd cheered as the group bowed.

Taehyun got a text from Beomgyu a few minutes after their set finished. He ignored his excited wingman texts about how things were going with the dimpled zombie and texted him a reminder of where they were seated.

Beomgyu joined them a few minutes after. He slid into the booth next to Hueningkai, who moved over to accommodate him, which also made Taeyhun shift over and effectively close the distance between him and Soobin. Taehyun shot a glare at the duo. _They definitely did that on purpose_. Soobin didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he didn’t mind. Taehyun relaxed a bit, he was here to enjoy an evening with his friends and get to know Soobin better outside of the cafe. He needed to ease up.

“Sorry I know you must have all been waiting for the star of the show but no worries he’s here now!”

“Oh is Ryujin joining us?” Hueningkai asked.

“No,” Beomgyu glared at the boy, “she’s challenging Jinsoul to shots. Poor girl, she hasn’t drank with Ryujin before she doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.”

“Oh you didn’t join them for a round?”

“No, I couldn’t keep my lovely fans waiting,” Beomgyu tickled Hueningkai’s arm.

“Or you were scared you would lose.”

Beomgyu ignored Hueningkai’s teasing. “Don’t let me interrupt! What were you talking about?”

“Oh I was just about to tell Soobin about that time when you, Taehyun and I snuck into the pool at school and-”

“No. You’re not.” Taehyun interrupted.

“Oh come on it’s such a funny story.”

“Maybe for you!”

The group laughed and continued their conversation. Taehyun was amazed by how normal it all seemed, sitting next to Soobin as Hueningkai told all the embarrassing stories he could think of from their childhood. Luckily Yeonjun had some stories of Soobin as well so Taehyun wasn’t the only one being embarrassed that night. Soobin protested each time, he was surprisingly louder than Taehyun expected. At one point while laughing Soobin smacked Taehyun’s shoulder and he felt his life flash before his eyes. Soobin apologized profusely but the man’s horrified reaction was so funny Taehyun didn’t mind at all.

Beomgyu had been surprisingly quiet after showing up but maybe that was for the best, his wingman tendencies could be a bit too much sometimes. But tonight, he actually seemed to be allowing the conversation to flow normally. Although, now that Taehyun thought about it, it was suspicious how quiet he was being. He hadn’t even joined in to tell the pool story or touched the tteokbokki in front of him.

Taehyun turned to see Beomgyu staring very intensely at Soobin’s friend. Taehyun sighed inwardly, so that was why he was so quiet. _Here comes the chaotic gay._

Soobin’s friend had seemed to notice too. “Hey, Beomgyu right? Sorry I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Yeonjun,” the blonde reached out for Beomgyu’s hand. “You were really amazing! Your voice is really something.”

Beomgyu stared at Yeonjun, his mouth slightly open. God he was so obvious, Taheyun hoped he never stared at Soobin like that. A beat passed before Beomgyu smirked. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, ignoring the extended hand. “Yeah. I know.”

Taehyun groaned, so this was how he was going to act.

Yeonjun looked puzzled for a second before winking and firing back. “Confident! I like that.”

Beomgyu flushed a bit at the wink and buried his face into his glass.

“Aww sorry we haven’t showered you with praise yet, you did great Beomgyu-hyung,” Hueningkai cooed and rubbed his belly.

“Yeah Beomgyu that was really amazing, you’ve taken my order at the cafe so many times but I never expected this side of you,” Soobin said.

Beomgyu mumbled a thank you and put his arm around Hueningkai. Taehyun noticed he was still blushing.

“That last song you performed, I didn’t recognize it, is it an original?” Yeonjun asked.

“Yeah… I wrote it myself.”

“Wow you've really got a talent there. And that Taylor Swift cover, it sounded so different from the original I almost didn’t recognize it. Did you rearrange that?”

Beomgyu nodded, still hiding his face in his glass. “Well yeah but my bandmates helped, we’re all music majors. Jinsoul, our lead singer, is a fourth year and the others are in their second year. I’m the same age as Ryujin, our drummer, and Hyejoo, our pianist, but I’m a first year. Ryujin went to the same high school as us though so I already knew her. She asked me to join their group.”

“Wow it seems like you know a lot about what you’re doing for a first year,” Yeonjun kept his attention on Beomgyu as he absentmindedly swirled his glass of water.

“Well I’ve been playing guitar since I was a kid, I guess you could say I have a natural talent for it,” Beomgyu was starting to loosen up following the compliments from Yeonjun. Taehyun rolled his eyes a bit at Beomgyu’s boldness, but he deserved to brag. He really was good at what he did. Passionate too. It was a quality of his that made him proud to be his friend.

The five chatted cheerfully into the night, enjoying the music and each other’s company. Taehyun slowly relaxed but he still was painfully aware of Soobin’s hand resting under the table next to him and how easily he could reach out and take it.

“Thank you everyone that was our last performance, can we get another round of applause for all the amazing people who were up here tonight,” Sunoo announced.

The crowd cheered. Beomgyu, Hueningkai and Yeonjun let out a loud yell.

“The bar and floor will remain open for another two hours but that wraps up our entertainment for the night. Remember folks, we have live music here every Saturday. Thank you all again and goodnight!”

“Oh wow I didn’t expect us to be here all night,” Soobin said. “But that was a lot of fun. Thank you for inviting us Taehyun.”

“Aw it’s just midnight, the night is still young. Do you crazy kids have any plans after this?” Yeonjun asked.

“Oh no we were just going to head back to the dorms. I honestly just try to catch up on sleep on the weekends,” Taehyun replied.

“Hmm that’s fair, but we don’t have any other plans tomorrow right Soobin?” He nudged the boy with his elbow. “If any of you feel like joining us for anything else.”

Soobin chuckled. “Umm I’m not sure what else there is to do this late near campus other than go to the cafe. I feel like Taehyun wouldn’t want to go there on his day off though. We’ve got a car but I wouldn’t want to drag you too far away… and I do think you should get more rest.”

“Umm,” Taehyun looked expectantly at Hueningkai and Beomgyu. He knew if he did decide to join the two older boys they would gladly tag along to help. But Beomgyu had just done a performance and was probably more tired than he let on and he knew Hueningkai had some work he needed to do. “I think we should call it a night but thank you for the offer. We should definitely do this again sometime, I had a lot of fun,” He directed the last sentence at Soobin. He smiled back in response.

“Ok well it was great meeting you all. Soobin I’ll go grab the car, why don’t you just wait outside?” Yeonjun slid out of the booth first, grabbed his jacket and left.

The rest of the group exited the booth and made their way to the exit.

“Oh actually I need to say bye to the others,” Beomgyu paused at the door. “Huening, why don’t you come with me?”

Hueningkai nodded seriously. “Yes I’m very curious as well about how Jinsoul is doing after that contest.”

“You can wait outside for us Taehyun!” Beomgyu grabbed Hueningkai’s arm and the two hurried off.

“And then there were two…” Soobin chuckled and opened the door. “After you?”

“Wow what a gentleman,” Taehyun smiled.

The two stepped outside. Taehyun’s ears rang a bit in the sudden silence after being in the loud bar for hours. Soobin took a deep breath.

“It always feels so great to be out in the night air.”

Taehyun nodded in response.

“Thank you a lot for inviting me again. I don’t usually do things like this so it was a really nice break.”

“Yeah of course, thank you for... well, you were the one who suggested we hang out.”

“Ahaha yeah I guess I was… So umm were you serious?”

“Serious about what?”

“About,” Soobin licked his lips, “doing this again sometime. Like not necessarily this specifically, not that this wasn’t fun! I wouldn’t mind if we did this again. But I mean like, maybe something that was just, the two of us?”

“Just. The two of us,” Taehyun repeated.

“Yeah… If you want,” Soobin looked down and fiddled with the hem of his jacket.

“Yeah I meant it.”

Soobin’s eyes snapped back to Taehyun’s. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Soobin took a step forward.

The bar door crashed open. Jinsoul and Ryujin tumbled out giggling, clinging tightly onto each other’s arms, Beomgyu and Hueningkai trailed behind them. Soobin took a step back, whatever action he felt brave enough to do in that moment faded away with the arrival of new eyes.

“Hahaaa thanks for coming by Taehyun and…” Jinsoul’s voice trailed off as she looked at Soobin, “tall guy!” She giggled and fell against Ryujin while Ryujin rolled her eyes.

“I take it Jinsoul lost?” Taehyun asked.

“Big time,” Ryujin’s eyes widened to emphasize her point.

The two girls walked off to their ride while Yeonjun pulled up.

“Ah well I guess this is goodnight,” Soobin slowly walked backwards to the car, “I’ll see you all around?”

“Yeah we will, goodnight Soobin,” Taehyun replied.

“Umm,” Soobin stopped walking then scurried back forwards to Taehyun. He held open his arms. Taehyun blinked bemused, then took a step forward and gave Soobin a hug. As much as he hated the way Kai teased him about it, he was right, he was a lot shorter than Soobin. Taehyun awkwardly stood up on his toes, he’d made the mistake of wrapping his arms above his shoulders instead of around his waist. Still though, it was a nice hug.

The two stepped apart.

“Oh umm goodnight Huening, great performance again Beomgyu,” Soobin gave the two quick hugs as an embarrassed afterthought.

“Goodnight Soobin-hyung,” Hueningkai replied cheerfully and returned the hug while Beomgyu looked confused receiving his.

Soobin hurried back into the car and got in. He and Yeonjun waved through the car window before driving off into the night. The trio waved them off as they drove away.

Hueningkai slung his arm across Taehyun’s shoulders once the car had left. “Well I’d say that was a very successful first date.”

Beomgyu slung his arm across the other side. “I agree my dear Huening. Taehyun, would you like to thank anyone?”

Taehyun rolled his eyes but wrapped his arms around their waists. He felt safe and at home between the arms of his best friends. “It’s late, we should head back home.”

~

The three crashed into a pile on Hueningkai’s bed once they were back. Despite how late they’d been out the trio didn’t feel tired at all. Damp hair from the dorm showers and curiosity from the night’s events kept them awake. Beomgyu wore a pair of Hueningkai’s pyjamas. They were decorated in a cute polka dot pattern and were much too large for him. He rested his head on Taehyun’s chest, but his wet hair seeped through Taehyun’s shirt and was starting to leave a wet puddle.

“Beomgyu, did you even dry your hair? It feels like you’ve poured a bottle of water on me,” Taehyun groaned.

Beomgyu sat up and smirked at Taehyun before shaking his head vigorously to get the water off. Taehyun and Hueningkai shrieked with laughter as they shielded themselves from the attack.

“What are you a poodle?” Hueningkai grabbed the pillow and smacked Beomgyu in the stomach with it.

“Yeah we invite you into our home, even clothe you and you disrespect us like this,” Taehyun joked.

“Oh chill out it’s not like I took much, I brought my own toothbrush! I just needed to borrow some pyjamas,” Beomgyu took the pillow from Hueningkai and pushed it against him, pinning him to the wall.

“AHHH TAEHYUN! I need backup!”

Taehyun chuckled and sat up to help. Beomgyu immediately backed off and hugged the pillow to himself.

“Oh no thanks I do not feel like ‘wrestling’ with Taehyun tonight he is TERRIFYING.”

“Terrifying? Who me?” In a fluid motion Taehyun grabbed the pillow from his bed and smacked it against Beomgyu. Soon the three were engaged in an all out pillow war.

The three collapsed into laughter and lay on the bed, trying to catch their breath. A comfortable silence filled the room. Taehyun smiled up at the ceiling, he was really grateful to have friends like this.

“So it seems like you and Soobin-hyung are getting along really well~” Hueningkai’s voice cut through the silence.

“Oh…” Taehyun sat up. “I mean yeah he seems like a cool guy, we’re friends…”

“Oh c’mon Taehyun, friends?” Beomgyu said. “Did you see the way he looked at you all night? He is absolutely whipped,” He gave Hueningkai a fist bump. “So what do you think of him? Like does he seem different outside of the cafe?”

“I guess so… I mean at the cafe he’s always studying and busy but tonight he was… more casual I guess.”

“Hmm, he also wasn’t wearing glasses,” Hueningkai smirked.

“Oh god Kai shut up I know!”

Beomgyu turned to Hueningkai. “What about his glasses.”

“The VERY first thing Taehyun said to Soobin-hyung when he walked in was that he wasn’t wearing glasses, it was so sad.”

Beomgyu laughed. “Oh Taehyun seriously? Man you really needed my help to set you two up. But seriously how do you think it went? It really seems like he was interested in you.”

“Umm anyways it’s late we should go back to sleep, Beomgyu you need to get back home in the morning anyways,” Taehyun got up and walked towards his bed.

“Aww c’mon it doesn’t matter when I get back, tell us more!”

Hueningkai’s eyes followed Taehyun as he went to his bed. “Actually yeah I have a painting I need to finish tomorrow so maybe we should head to bed.”

Beomgyu pouted and half-heartedly slapped his his hand against Hueningkai’s chest but agreed.

Taehyun turned off the lights and settled into his bed. Beomgyu and Hueningkai crammed into Hueningkai’s despite his height.

The room fell silent again.

Taehyun stared at the wall, his back to his two friends. His eyes traced the contents of a corkboard he had hung up on the wall. On the left hung a calendar he had been given for free during orientation. It was a generic landscape calendar and the photo this month was of Jeju island. His work shifts and class schedule were detailed neatly on the square boxes. Post-its marked when he had assignments due and when he wanted to work on them. A bright purple tab with “DATE!! ^3^” scrawled across it fell on today, Hueningkai had added that. His eyes drifted over to the right of the board. Under a small SHINee poster there were a couple pictures of his cat Hobak, his family, then a few of him, Hueningkai and Beomgyu.

_It might be nice to add a picture of Soobin there._

“Hey,” Taehyun whispered, “thanks a lot for your help tonight. I mean it.”

They didn’t reply, maybe they had already fallen asleep.

After a few beats Beomgyu mumbled back. “Yeah that’s what friends are for, we want to see you happy Taehyun.”

A silence fell again as they all settled back down to sleep.

“Also obviously you’ve got your man but did you see his friend? Like what the hell he was just wearing a black T-shirt and beanie but who the hell looks that good in just a black t-shirt and a beanie?”

Taehyun laughed, some things really never changed. “Goodnight Beomgyu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cameos cameos we love cameos! Moamidzyorbits let's go!! I'm here to promote the e-boy/girl Beomgyu, Ryujin, Hyejoo agenda (with their prep lead singer Jinsoul.) What are fics for if not self-indulgency.  
> Dreaminglows the throw away sunsun line is very much for you I hope you like it :^)


	6. Way Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soobin and Taehyun take a big step.

It was another slow, late night at the cafe. It had been about two weeks since Taehyun and Soobin had gone to the band’s performance. They hadn't had the chance to do anything like that since then, they'd been slammed with coursework since. But they’d grabbed the odd meal together on campus and started regularly texting. And of course they had the cafe.

Taehyun wasn’t sure if they were dating, but it didn’t feel like they were just friends either. 

“You’ve been studying a lot lately, have you been getting enough sleep?” Taehyun asked. It had become a habit now for them to chat while Taehyun did his late night sweep of the store.

“I could say the same for you… You work so many night shifts and I just know you’ll still be up after this,” Soobin glanced up fondly from his laptop.

“Yes but I’m not here every night, or I assume you’re here studying every night.”

“Nights here aren’t as fun without you so I usually end up leaving and going back home…”

“Oh?” Taehyun paused from his work and looked over cheekily. “Do you have my schedule memorized by this point?”

Soobin blushed and blew air into his cheeks. _That really is such a cute habit of his…_ Taehyun thought. “That’s cute Soobin-hyung, you’re staying here so late for me.”

“I’d be up anyways whether I’m here or back at my place,” Soobin replied.

“Where do you live? I know it’s mostly first and second years who stay on campus.”

“Mmm it’s like a five minute transit from here, thirty minutes walk.”

Taehyun stopped sweeping. “Wait, barely any buses run at this point. Don’t tell me…”

“Ahaha well depending on how I time it I can catch a bus back to my place, and sometimes Yeonjun will pick me up since he has a car… but actually I prefer to just walk back. Something about the air at 2.. 3 am… feels different.”

Taehyun couldn’t help but feel guilty, even though he knew Soobin had been staying late at the cafe long before they became friends or whatever this was between them.

Taehyun was about to say more when Yoongi arrived.

“Oh hey,” Taehyun glanced up at the clock. “It’s only 1, did something happen?”

“Hmm no just felt like swinging by, figured I’d get a start on the day. You can stay if you’d like since you’re scheduled in but it’s midterms now for you yeah? You should get some rest.”

“Oh, umm yeah actually that doesn’t sound like a bad idea but are you sure? I’m scheduled so I should stay, I’d feel bad if you worked extra.”

“Kid, I’m the owner, I'm the one who’s supposed to be busting his ass. You work minimum wage, you're allowed to take it easy.”

“Umm yeah ok guess I’ll head out then,” He turned to glare at Soobin. “And you should too.”

Soobin smiled sheepishly and held up his hands. “Ok I surrender I’ll go now too.”

The two left together. Taehyun saw Yoongi smirking behind the counter. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was a secret ploy. _I swear if he and Beomgyu have been conspiring against me._

The two walked the winding path of the campus and reached the campus edge. This is where they would separate.

“Soobin.”

The older boy stopped and turned to look back at Taehyun over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Let me walk you home tonight.”

“What? No that is extremely out of your way.”

“It’s alright, I was scheduled to work for another two hours anyways so I’ll still be getting back an hour earlier than intended.”

“Taehyunnie... That’s insane you need to rest.”

It was a dumb suggestion, Taehyun knew it, but he wanted to spend more time with the older boy.

“You could… stay over if you want…” Soobin mumbled.

They both blushed, the night covered their embarrassment.

“Ok.”

“Hmm?”

“Ok, that sounds like a plan. When’s your class tomorrow?” Taehyun started walking. He forged ahead of the taller boy, not turning back so he couldn’t see how red his face was.

Soobin smiled and quickly caught up. “Luckily not as early tomorrow, I start at 11.”

“Hmm yeah I’ve got class at 12 but I was planning on going to the library before anyways, we can leave together.”

The two walked shoulder to shoulder, both kept their hands stuffed in their pockets. Taehyun started to panic, had this been a good decision? He and Soobin weren’t anything official. Sure they texted a lot and there seemed to be an energy in the way they talked that was different from other friends. But going back to Soobin’s place, separating their relationship from the comfortable familiarity of the campus and cafe, seemed like a step towards something more.

Soobin started talking, interrupting Taehyun’s thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

“You just… look so deep in thought hahaha. I was curious what could be causing that expression but it’s alright if you don’t want to share.”

“Oh I guess, I just can’t help feeling guilty that you’ve been walking back so late by yourself but, you said you prefer it?”

Soobin chuckled. “It’s alright you don’t have to feel guilty, I’m an adult, I can make my own decisions. I guess it is kind of scary but I always text Yeonjun when I leave so he’d know if something happened to me. But there is something really peaceful about it.”

“Yeah… when I get off late shifts there is something freeing about walking back to the dorm at night.”

“It feels incredibly lonely, but also so open at the same time. Everything I’m worried about disappears for a brief moment and I can just… be.”

Taehyun looked over at Soobin. The boy stared up at the stars, his face illuminated by the moonlight. His faded hair took on a silver tint and his eyes reflected the starlight, he truly looked like an angel. Soobin turned his attention away from the sky back to Taehyun. The latter sight interested him more anyways.

“I get the same feeling when I’m with you,” Soobin looked into Taehyun’s eyes and he felt so _seen_. Like there was no one else in the word except for the two of them. “I’m glad we’ve gotten closer Taehyun.”

The two paused and kept looking at each other. The cold air had made Soobin’s cheeks a light shade of pink. His lips were also pinker in the cold air and the thought of kissing those upturned lips entered Taehyun’s mind.

As if he had heard his thoughts, Soobin took a step forward.

Taehyun held his breath, everything seemed to fall silent.

An owl screeched and startled the two. They stumbled back in surprise before laughing and continuing their walk back.

Once they made it back to Soobin’s place, Soobin insisted that Taehyun take his bed and he would take the futon in the living room. But Taehyun disagreed, telling Soobin he should sleep in his own bed and that their futon looked nicer than the twin bed he had in the dorm anyways.

They went to sleep quickly, both tired from the long day but happy with the amount of time they’d spent together. Taehyun stared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t remember when was the last time he’d slept somewhere other than the dorms. He had slept in his room back home during the break between first and second semester. He’d been to Hueningkai and Beomgyu’s houses before during high school. But other than those three places that was really it.

Despite the unfamiliarity, sleep still came easily to Taehyun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you cry over the fact that Taehyun and Soobin take late night talks to have deep conversations or are you normal.  
> Also yes the chapter summary is a pun please appreciate it.


	7. Ghosting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyun is bad at feelings.

Taehyun woke up to the light clinkle of plates and the sizzling of a frying pan. He sat up slowly and swung his legs over the side of the couch. As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he looked around the unfamiliar room he had woken up in. He stared down at an oversized shirt that wasn’t his.

_Soobin lent this to me, so it wasn’t a dream._

He got up and walked over to the kitchen. Soobin stood in the kitchen, frying eggs. Sunlight streamed in from the window behind him and basked him in a warm glow. He smiled when he saw Taehyun.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?”

Soobin’s hair was messy, he wasn’t wearing his glasses and he wore a pair of fuzzy pyjama pants that had a cow spot pattern on them of all things. But to Taehyun, he had never seen someone so beautiful. Taehyun walked over and linked his arms around Soobin’s. He leaned his head against the taller boy’s shoulder.

“Honestly this is the most well-rested I’ve felt in months,” Taehyun replied.

“That’s funny, I feel the same way.”

Taehyun helped Soobin make breakfast. The two chatted casually about their plans for the day as they prepared the meal. Soobin did his best to make a latte for Taehyun using instant coffee mix and microwaving milk but the result did not go as planned. Some of the milk had somehow congealed in a mass on top while the rest dissolved into the coffee. Soobin tried his best to drip this ungodly mixture in a design for a few minutes before giving up and pouting. Taehyun found the older boy’s frustration adorable and couldn’t help but laugh. But coffee was coffee and the attempt warmed Taehyun’s heart.

As the two giggled over their coffee and toast with eggs, Taehyun felt warm. Even though the eggs had burnt they still tasted amazing. Mostly because Soobin made them but also because it had been so long since Taehyun had made his own breakfast. He normally just ate a protein bar in the mornings or grabbed a muffin from the dorm cafeteria. Eating something warm and home-cooked felt nice.

It was different.

Taehyun stared at Soobin across the table as the older boy told a story about one of the cases he had studied. Listening to Soobin talk felt natural, like he had known him his whole life, and sitting with him at his dining table felt the same way as sitting with him in the cafe.

Yeonjun wandered into the room yawning, he didn’t seem surprised to see Taehyun at the breakfast table. He mumbled a hello and grabbed a piece of toast off the table, plopping into the empty chair. Soobin inched his chair closer to Taehyun’s to make room.

It surprised Taehyun how natural it all felt. But for some reason, rather than feeling relieved, the warm feeling in his chest started to cool like the eggs on the table.

**~**

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU STAYED OVER AT HIS PLACE TELL ME EVERYTHING.”

“Beomgyu we’re in a library shut up!” Taehyun hissed.

“Ooooh you two are moving fast, when’s the wedding?” Hueningkai asked.

“No shut up! I just felt bad. He always stays so late at the cafe so I offered to walk him home then he told me about how redundant that would be so he said I could stay over.”

“So, are you two dating now? Is it official? Did you kiss him?” Beomgyu demanded.

“What? No, NO and no I didn’t.”

Beomgyu made a strangled noise. “Well why not??? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one here!”

“I don’t know… I thought about it and… it maybe almost happened but I’m not sure… But, that’s such a big step.”

“Huening I can’t believe this… He pines after this man for months and now that he’s showing interest, thanks to my help of course, this fool wastes his chance!” Beomgyu mourned.

Hueningkai looked at Taehyun, his eyes filled with concern. “Taehyunnie, are you ok?”

“What, yeah I’m fine.”

“You almost kissed him?” Hueningkai asked. Beomgyu continued to mouth ‘almost’ incredulously.

“I’m… not sure…”

“If you’re worried about things with Soobin or you’re not sure where things stand, you should talk with him. I think you do really like him and he really likes you too so you should talk with him about it. I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”

Taehyun fell silent. Beomgyu sensed that the mood had changed and stopped his dramatic display.

“Oh… I’m sorry Taehyun you should take things at your own pace. But Huening is right, surprisingly, you should talk to Soobin.”

Taehyun nodded.

“Of course I’m right.” Hueningkai playfully punched Beomgyu who pushed him back with a grin.

Taehyun smiled slightly at his two best friends as they joked around. Things felt like they were back to normal before his phone buzzed. It was a text from Soobin.

_Hey!! Do you want to go out this week? We could get dinner or something ^^_

Taehyun stared at the message. It was worded just vaguely enough that it could be an invitation for a date or just to hang out.

_Sorry… working a lot this week and have a lot of assignments too…_

_Oh I see… That’s alright!! Rain check then? I’ll see you around the cafe <3 _

Taehyun stared at the text blankly before opening his calendar app. Tomorrow was Wednesday, Soobin always showed up during his evening shift on Wednesdays. A hot wave of panic washed over Taehyun, he excused himself from Hueningkai and Beomgyu, telling them he had to use the bathroom. Before he knew it he was calling someone.  
“Hey Yoongi-hyung? Umm I’m really sorry... I’m not feeling well, I can’t come in tomorrow.”

~

Taehyun called in sick Friday as well and made up his shifts Saturday and Sunday morning when he knew Soobin would be sleeping. It wasn’t until Monday afternoon that Soobin finally caught Taehyun on the campus path.

“Hey, did I do something wrong? Have you been avoiding me?” He pulled Taehyun off to the side and kept his voice down so other students wouldn’t overhear.

“What no I just, haven’t been feeling well and busy with classes you know.”

“Oh ok,” Soobin pouted slightly, he wasn’t convinced but he didn’t want to pry further. “If you’re not feeling well maybe I could just hang out with you at your dorm? I could help Huening with his studies too, he mentioned he’d like some help, I think he’s been avoiding his readings again.”

“Umm maybe, I’m not sure.”

Soobin looked defeated. “It’s ok if you don’t want to, I understand,” He spun around to leave.

“Wait no Soobin I…” Soobin stopped and stared at Taehyun expectantly. Taehyun faltered, why was he avoiding him? But staring at those deep eyes, usually so bright with warmth look so down, Taehyun felt guilty. “I’d love to, that sounds like a good idea.”

“Really? Are you free tonight? You don’t usually work Monday evenings do you?”

This man really did pay attention. “Yeah I’m free, I’ll let Kai know I’m sure he’ll be excited to see you.”

“Ok great, my class finishes at six, I’ll swing by after then.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Soobin nodded and turned. “Umm Taehyunnie? I really like spending time with you so... thanks,” He ducked his head goodbye and strided off without looking back.

Taehyun let out the breath he had been holding. Why was he making this so difficult for the two of them?

~

“Hmmm you’ve been avoiding him all week but now you seem pretty intent that the place look nice for him. That was actually pretty smart of him to make plans the day of! You definitely would have pulled some excuse if he said in a few days,” Hueningkai said lazily, reclined on his bed half heartedly wiping the desk with a dust cloth.

“Shut up Kai,” Taehyun gathered a pile of clothes off the floor and shoved them into the dresser.

“Were those clean?” Hueningkai inquired.

Taehyun paused, reopened the drawer and sniffed a couple of the articles of clothing. He recoiled at a few.

“We do have a laundry hamper in the corner,” Hueningkai pointed at a basket hidden underneath a stack of paintings.

Taehyun groaned and gingerly moved the paintings into a neat stack next to the desks and put the incriminating piles of clothing into the basket.

“So,” Hueningkai rolled over onto his stomach and looked at Taehyun, “why have you been avoiding him? And don’t deflect and say that you haven’t Taehyun, you’ve been painfully obvious.”

Taehyun sighed and pushed the drawers of clothing closed. “I don’t know,” He admitted.

“I got the vibe that you were spooked by how fast things were moving, but I didn’t think you’d completely avoid him like this,” Kai frowned. “ Soobin-hyung doesn’t deserve that.”

“I know. You’re right I’m just,” Taehyun plopped down on the ground. “The more I get to know him, the more I like him, and… I can tell he likes me too but… I don't know Kai, honestly I don’t. I don’t know why I can’t let us just... like each other.”

Hueningkai looked at Taehyun, “I think you do.”

“What do you-” the question was cut off by a short polite knock on the door.

Taehyun looked down, he was still in a tank top and ratty basketball shorts. “Shit.”

“Ohhh Soobinnie-hyung is that you?” Hueningkai laughed, “Just give us one second!”

Taehyun hurriedly changed into clothes that didn’t make him look like he was a dying college student and shoved a couple last pieces of garbage into the bin.

Hueningkai casually strolled over to the door, glanced over to make sure Taehyun was dressed, laughed and opened the door widely. He smiled brightly. “Welcome to our humble abode.”

Soobin smiled shyly and ducked under the doorway. He wore a black turtleneck, jeans and the long beige coat he’d worn on the night they had gone to the bar. He always dressed well, or at least better than most students would dress on this campus. Or maybe Taehyun was just whipped and thought the baggiest and most unappealing of hoodies would look good on him. Soobin’s greeting to Taehyun took him out of his thoughts of that night.

“That’s a cute sweater, it looks kind of big for you though.”

“What?” Taehyun glanced down. _Oh shit_. What he’d thought was his sweater was actually a bright sweater covered with a flower design.

Hueningkai snorted really loudly and tried to regain his composure. “Oh well you know, we’ve been friends so long we sh-share *snort* a lot of things,” He lost it and started laughing. “Taehyunnie you should have just stayed in the tank top HAHAHA. Hey Soobin-hyung, Taehyun may not look like it but he’s actually got really impressive muscles. Hey Taehyun why don’t-”

“Kai that is enough,” Taehyun glared at Hueningkai with a smile on his face. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to what I was wearing. Let me change.”

Soobin turned away and stared at a spot on the ceiling while Taehyun changed. Kai stayed looking at Taehyun and smiled cheekily.

 _Stop it,_ Taehyun mouthed and pulled on the plain blue sweater he’d thought he’d grabbed.

“Ok well umm, Soobin, you said you wanted to help Kai study right? Go for it,” He gestured weakly with his hands.

“Aww I don’t want to study,” Hueningkai whined and shook Taehyun’s arm. “Hey how about we just chill out for a bit!”

“Kai, I will not sit here and watch you fail your classes,” Taehyun glared at Hueningkai.

“Ok fine fine but,” he sighed dramatically, “I’m just not in the right headspace to study… Oh! Soobin, why don’t we do a free write.”

“A what?” Taehyun asked.

“It’s this exercise we do in class, where for 10 minutes you write, draw or whatever else you want, and you don’t stop,” Soobin explained. “It's a really good way to destress and center yourself.”

“Yeah! Taehyun you should join us!”

“But umm I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“It’s easy just write whatever comes to your mind,” Hueningkai assured him and pulled out a large sketchbook from his bag.

The three boys positioned themselves around the room. Hueningkai sprawled on his bed, Soobin found a spot on the ground and Taehyun took one of the desks. Hueningkai had a large sketchbook with a leather cover and Soobin had a light blue travel sized binder notebook. Since Taehyun didn’t have anything else, he just used a lined spiral notebook with a purple cover and flipped to a blank page.

“Okkkk and… go!” Hueningkai tapped a timer on his phone and immediately buried his nose into his sketchbook, scribbling furiously.

Taehyun fretted and idly drew a few lines, unsure of how to proceed. He stole a glance at Soobin. The older boy was writing calmly and at a steady pace. Despite the calm movement of his hands, his brows were softly furrowed and he chewed on his bottom lip.

He looked beautiful. But of course, Taehyun always thought he looked beautiful.

He turned his attention back to the paper and started forming a sentence. Before he knew it, his head was swimming with thoughts and he let them all pour out on the paper.

How beautiful Soobin looked, how he gave his coffee orders in a low voice and how just seeing him brightened his day. The way his smile reached his eyes and how Taehyun would do anything to preserve that smile. How he’s never felt this way about someone before… and that it scared him. How he’s so used to order that he stuck himself into an endless routine of work and school to feel secure. How since entering University he realized he hasn’t felt passion for what he does and that this man who’s so passionate about the things he does... lights a fire in him that he knows he can’t match.

How he doesn’t know what he wants to do but Soobin is so sure. And that Soobin deserves someone who is sure. How Taehyun, who is so full of uncertainty, isn’t sure if he can be that person.

But writing this out and looking at Soobin, Taehyun realized something. He is sure he wants to try.

With that thought on the paper Taehyun’s pen froze. He wanted to be with Soobin, he was sure of it. He just had to let him know. He looked over to where Soobin was sitting. As if he sensed Taehyun’s stare Soobin looked up and returned the gaze.

_Beep beep beep._

“Aaaand we’re done!” Kai snapped his book shut.

“Umm now what do we do, do we need to share or anything?” Taehyun asked Hueningkai nervously.

“That’s it! You just do whatever and then you’re done. Unless there was something you wanted to share Taehyunnie?”

Taehyun turned his attention back to the notebook and snapped it shut.

Kai’s phone rang.

“Oh it’s Beomgyu-hyung. Hello?” Hueningkai let out a series of mms, yeahs, uh huhs, and oh reallys. “Ah sorry you two I just need to step out for a minute Beomgyu needs help carrying some instruments.”

“Really,” Taehyun said skeptically.

“Yes really!!” He looked up at Taehyun with innocent puppy eyes.

“And why is he carrying ‘instruments’ near a dorm he doesn’t even live in?”

“I’ll just be a minute! I sweeear we’ll study when I get back,” Hueningkai ran out of the room.

Soobin sighed. “I get the feeling he won’t be back for a while.”

“So much for the study session.”

“Well… If I’ll be honest, I did this more to spend time with you than to help Huening study...”

The two sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

“Look Taehyun… If you want to stop seeing each other it’s fine, just let me know. But,” Soobin looked down at the ground and took a deep breath before locking his eyes back on Taehyun’s, “I like you. I like you a lot.”

Taehyun fell silent.

“If I did something wrong you can let me know.”

“No no you didn’t do anything,” Taehyun closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m just an idiot.”

Taehyun got up from the desk and sat next to Soobin on the ground. He wrapped his arms around his legs. There was only an inch between them but that inch felt insurmountable.

“I was really excited when I started University. It felt like a new beginning you know? And yeah at first with all the freshman events and parties and moving to the dorms, it was different. But then I just fell into a constant routine. In high school I had extracurriculars and class trips and hanging out with friends… And now all I do is go to class, go to work and talk to Beomgyu and Kai. But even though it was the same thing day after day, I got used to it,” Taehyun looked over at Soobin who nodded at him to continue. Taehyun’s voice hitched in his throat.

“And I wonder if I’ve always been like this. If I’ve always sought comfort in the familiar… If I’m just too scared to try anything else. Like even in what I’m studying. I picked math because it seemed like a clear path. I’m smart, I'm good at it, it’s not something I’d say I’m particularly passionate about but there’s a familiarity in the numbers and knowing that the equation will always have a specific outcome,” Taehyun leaned his head against Soobin’s shoulder. Soobin shifted and wrapped his arm around Taehyun.

“And you’re different. You’re so passionate and sure about what you’re doing. Letting you in, was a variable. People are so unpredictable and my life is so predictable and boring but it’s comfortable and I know it won't hurt me but if I let something different in I could get hurt. But… I think I’m fine with the unpredictable, of being hurt, if it’s you.”

Soobin reached out for Taehyun’s cheek. The skin of his fingers was soft and Taehyun relaxed into his touch.

“Taehyunnie... I would never hurt you. There’s nothing wrong with picking something familiar either. It’s alright if you don’t know for sure what you want to do, you can’t expect to know everything in your first year. I still don’t have a clue what I’m doing, I don’t think anyone does… But we can figure it out together.”

Soobin’s hand was still cupped on Taehyun’s cheek. Taehyun placed his hand on top and laced their fingers together.

“I wrote about you,” he whispered.

“I hope it was nice things you wrote,” Soobin smiled.

“Nah I wrote the most awful things about this customer who always stays super late and bothers me while I’m working.”

Soobin chuckled and shifted so he was sitting facing Taehyun. He rested his head against the side of the bed and smiled.

“I wrote about you too.”

Soobin leaned forward and Taehyun closed his eyes. Taehyun could feel Soobin’s breath just a few centimeters away from his lips when the door slammed open.

“Oh… Sorry am I interrupting something?” Hueningkai stood frozen in the doorway. The three stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Hueningkai turned around. “You know what I think Beomgyu still needs my help,” He slammed the door shut.

“Umm maybe I should go now,” Soobin got up.

“Yeah yeah I’ll walk you out.”

The two headed outside. They didn’t speak but Taehyun had said what he needed to say. When they reached the exit Soobin waved and walked down the steps of the dorm.

Actually, there was one more thing Taehyun needed to say.

“Hey,” He called out to Soobin. He stopped at the base of the stairs and turned around. “The open mic night at the cafe, I’m going to sign up for it and I’d like it if you were there to support me,” Standing at the top of the dorm stairs, looking down at Soobin bathed by a streetlight, the world seemed to stretch in front of him. But he felt closer to him than he ever had.

Soobin smiled lightly. “Well I’m always there anyways, it wouldn’t be weird for me to go.”

“I mean, you should come as my date. As my boyfriend.”

Soobin ducked his head down and looked back up, not bothering to hide the giddy smile that had appeared on his face. “Yes Taehyun, I will be your date.”

The two said goodbye and Soobin walked away. He made it three steps before letting out a loud shout.

“What are you ok?” Taehyun asked.  
“We didn’t get any studying done,” Soobin replied in a defeated tone.

Taehyun started to laugh. “Between you and me I don’t think Kai ever had any intention of studying tonight.”


	8. I'll Be There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyun takes a step into the unfamiliar. It's worth it.

“I can’t believe you actually signed up,” Beomgyu set a tray of mugs on a long table.

“Me neither,” Taehyun followed him with a platter of cookies.

The two busied themselves setting up a fold out plastic table with refreshments and snacks for the cafe’s open mic night. Taehyun straightened out the table cloth which had shifted after the new additions.

“Hey Taehyun, I’m proud of you,” Beomgyu pulled the other corner of the table cloth straight.

“I guess I should be thanking you. You were kind of the one who set this all up.”

Beomgyu snorted and arranged the mugs in a neat row. “You’re damn right you should be thanking me.”

Taehyun punched Beomgyu’s shoulder playfully. “We were having a tender movement, you ruined it.”

“Save your tender movements for Soobin tonight,” He rolled his eyes.

The two finished setting up the table as the first few customers trickled in. Yoongi shooed them off to the audience to enjoy themselves. A few rows of chairs had been set up to face a corner of the cafe with a microphone and keyboard. The keyboard was placed carefully against the wall, out of the way until it was needed. It belonged to Yoongi, who lent it on open mic nights for performers. Most of the cafe tables were set up like usual and some patrons sat there, but a couple had already joined the small seating area. Beomgyu politely took a seat in one, Taehyun sat backwards in the chair in front of him to face him.

“So what’s your game plan tonight?” Beomgyu asked.

“Umm don’t faint on stage?”

“I meant about Soobin,” Beomgyu rolled his eyes again.

More customers trickled in and took the seats around them as Taehyun thought. Finally he looked up at Beomgyu.

“You know, I don’t think I need a plan. I’ll just let things… happen. Let them be.”

Beomgyu studied Taehyun’s expression before grinning softly. “That sounds like a great idea.”

The door jingled and Taehyun looked over, a familiar silhouette stood in the doorway.

Taehyun got up to greet him.

“Hey,” he said and wrapped his arms around the taller boy. Soobin leaned down to account for the height difference, all traces of awkwardness from their previous hugs gone.

Soobin straightened out of the hug and gazed at Taehyun, his arms still around him. “Hey.”

They made their way back to where Beomgyu was seated. Hueningkai had somehow materialized out of nowhere in the time Taehyun was gone and he and Beomgyu were in a serious debate about which anime characters would win in a fight.

“No Huening Saitama would objectively win any fight he is literally the strongest being in the universe.”

“I don’t know Beomgyu-hyung… You forget that Sailor Moon has galaxy-destroying powers, and those powers make her the most powerful being in _multiple_ universes.”

“Ignoring all that universe stuff, when it comes down to it in a one on one fist fight, it’s Saitama.”

“You can’t just ‘ignore all that universe stuff’ she is literally the guardian of the universe,” Hueningkai turned around. “Taehyunnie who do you think would win?”

“I don’t know… Pikachu? Are these seats for us?”

Beomgyu yanked away the empty chair nearest to Taehyun and scoffed. “Pikachu? No Taehyun, this seat is not for somehow who thinks _Pikachu_ would win against Saitama.”

“Well if Taehyun can’t sit with you can I?” A voice behind Soobin and Taehyun asked. Yeonjun stepped up, his hair was now dyed a light shade of pink and he wore a fitted white shirt.

Beomgyu gaped up at Yeonjun.

“Hmm actually… if it’s Ash’s pikachu specifically we’re talking about… he is quite strong,” Hueningkai said to himself.

Taehyun sighed. “How about we sit up front?”

Soobin looked at him and smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

The two took a seat together in the front row. Taehyun turned back to look at Beomgyu. He looked somewhat miserable between Hueningkai and Yeonjun, it was almost funny.

“Good luck,” Taehyun mouthed cheekily.

Beomgyu stuck his tongue out in response.

Soobin turned and chuckled at the scene. “I hope Beomgyu will be alright.”

“Don’t worry I’m sure he’s enjoying sitting with Yeonjun.”

“I’m honestly more worried about leaving those three together, feels like trouble waiting to happen. Even though Yeonjun’s older he gets up to shenanigans,” Soobin joked.

“Shenanigans?” Taehyun raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know how else to put it. I’m sure you have your hands full with those two as well.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Taehyun replied. Hueningkai and Beomgyu seemed to be arguing with Yeonjun about something, maybe they’d gotten him into their anime debate. “Oh yeah we were interrupted last time, what does Yeonjun study?”

“Oh his major is-”

He was interrupted by microphone feedback.

“Hello testing testing. Is this thing on?” Hoseok tapped the mic repeatedly. “Well hello hello everyone, and welcome to the OtsuKafé’s open mic night! For those of you who are joining us for the first time, we hold this event every semester after midterms and yes the coffee and snacks on that table are free. I know that’s why you’re here,” The crowd chuckled in response. “But in case you do want to give us money, we’re still selling other drinks and pastries,” Hoseok pulled out a list and read off it.

“Now our first performers of the night are 2jin! The musical stylings of Heejin and Hyunjin. Let’s get a round of applause for these ladies.”

Two pretty girls with long dark hair and matching red skirts and berets took the stage. One carried a guitar and the other a tambourine.

After their performance a poet who was as tall as Soobin and had dimples as well took the stage. In his intro he almost knocked over the mic. Judging by Hoseok’s laughter he was probably friends with him. He looked around Hoseok’s age, probably a masters student. After his powerful spoken word performance a couple more musicians performed. Sunghoon, who Taehyun faintly remembered was or used to be a figure skater, did a small dance performance in the limited space.

Hoseok looked at his list and inhaled sharply. “Oooh our next performer is a real troublemaker, I’m not sure if I want him on stage…”

“Ah it’s my turn!” Beomgyu sprung up happily and ran to the stage. He turned the keyboard away from the wall and brought it up to the mic stand.

“Hello!” He bowed deeply and clasped his hands in front of his chest. “My name is Beomgyu and I’ll be performing some original arrangements for you tonight.”

He stayed standing in front of the keyboard. His shoes made a light scraping noise as he adjusted his stance and took a deep breath. All the wild energy he normally exhibited disappeared, then he started to play. A hush fell over the room as he sang a bittersweet yet carefree song, the crowd completely immersed in his performance. When he finished he stared down at the keyboard for a few seconds.

“WOW what a pretty song Beomgyu-hyung, are you dedicating it to anyone in the crowd tonight?” Hueningkai yelled.

“Aww it’s to you of course my dear Huening,” Beomgyu sneered. He put the keyboard away and switched to his guitar for his next two songs. Taehyun had heard these two but hadn’t heard the first, it must have been a new song. It was strange though that he had chosen piano, it wasn’t his preferred instrument, but maybe he had done it for an assignment.

Beomgyu finished up his performance to wild applause.

“Thank you everyone, again my name is Beomgyu and yes I will sign autographs for you afterwards. Now our next performer is really special even though he’s a fool, please give it up for Taehyun!”

“Hey you’re taking my job!” Hoseok called off from the side of the stage. “But yes up next we have Taehyun’s Magic Island!”

Soobin reached over and squeezed his leg. “Good luck.”

Taehyun squeezed his hand in response and stood up. He got up on the makeshift stage and bowed to the crowd. “Hello everyone, my name is Taehyun and I’ll be performing some magic tricks for you tonight.”

Taehyun pulled a deck of playing cards from his pocket.

“Let’s start off with something simple,” he shuffled the deck then fanned them out in his hands so every card showed. The crowd oohed.

“That wasn’t my first trick but thank you for the support,” Taehyun joked. He reshuffled the deck and held up a card.

“Let’s start off with a classic,” He flicked his finger against the back of the card and it transformed into a different one. Applause scattered across the room and Hueningkai loudly showed his support by letting out a surprised gasp. Taehyun brought his hand across the card and it disappeared. With a final gesture the fan of cards reappeared in his hands. He posed with the cards while the audience applauded.

Taehyun pulled two queens from the deck. “Now for the next trick these two lovely ladies will be helping me catch a thief. Hoseok-hyung can you come over here please?”

Hoseok stepped onto the stage and Taehyun presented the cards to him. “Tell me when to stop.”

Taehyun went through the cards. “Stop,” Hoseok said.

Taehyun handed him the card. “Ok this is our thief. Please show them to the audience, I’ll look away.”

Hoseok presented the seven of clubs to the crowd then placed it back in the deck. Taehyun shuffled the cards once again. “Now that the thief has slipped back into the crowd, these two friends will have to find them.”

“It’s me and Hyejoo tracking down Beomgyu after he ate the last red bean taiyaki from the practice room,” Ryujin shouted out from the crowd.

“Hey I told you that wasn’t me!” Beomgyu protested.

“Ok perfect so the Queen of Spades here, Ryujin, and the Queen of Clubs, Hyejoo will be tracking down their wily bandmate Beomgyu.”

“But it wasn’t me!”

“Hoseok please tell me when to stop again… Now take all those cards off, yeah just like that. Ok now I’ll send in these two,” Taehyun placed the two queen face up on the cut deck. “You can put the rest of the deck on top now.”

Taehyun turned to the crowd. “For those of you who don’t know, Ryujin and Hyejoo are extremely tenacious, I have no doubt they’ll find Beomgyu.”

“Ha! We’re going to get you Gyu,” Ryujin kicked the back of Beomgyu’s chair.

“Please refrain from kicking the cafe property,” Beomgyu said emotionlessly.

“Sorry if you can’t see as well in the back, I’ll reveal the cards now. If Ryujin and Hyejoo are successful their cards will be on either side of Beomgyu,” Taehyun slowly fanned the cards out in his hands. Once he reached the middle of the deck he found the two queens, however, they were still beside each other.

“Oh dear they didn’t find anything, maybe that means Beomgyu is innocent?”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you!”

“Well, let’s give them another chance. Maybe if they focus less on catching Beomgyu and looking for other clues it will lead them to the culprit. Hoseok please tell me when to stop once again.” The two repeated the steps from earlier.

“Ok now when I do this,” Taehyun fluttered the cards vertically in a waterfall motion, “they will have caught the red bean thief, I’m sure of it.”

He slowly fanned the cards out again. This time, when he reached the queens there was a card sandwiched between them. An ooh rippled across the audience.

“Let’s see who we have here,” He pulled the three cards from the deck. The queens remained facing up but the thief’s identity remained hidden. Taehyun spun the card around his fingers to dramatically reveal the seven of clubs. The crowd clapped loudly.

“Was this your card Hoseok-hyung?”

“Oh wait sorry I already forgot,” Hoseok looked across the cafe to Yoongi who nodded. “Yes it was!”

The crowd cheered again. Taehyun gestured for Hoseok to exit the stage and put the deck of cards back in his pocket.

“So have you found out the real thief yet Ryujin?” Taehyun asked.

“Hmm yeah it was Jinsoul she just texted me saying she bought some more because she finished them.”

“Is there anything you’d like to say to me?” Beomgyu whispered.

“No not really,” Ryujin replied.

Hoseok tossed Taehyun a large fabric pouch.

“For my next trick could I please get a member of the audience?”

“Oooooh me! Come on Taehyunnie pick me!!!” Hueningkai screeched.

“Hmm,” Taehyun slowly surveyed the crowd, his hand on his chin. “How about, you there! The cute one with glasses,” Taehyun pointed at Soobin.

Beomgyu and Yeonjun oooohed as Soobin laughed and made his way up to the stage. The audience clapped politely as Soobin did a small curtsy.

“So as you can see here I have a bag and it’s completely empty,” Taehyun shook the bag and showed the opening to the audience. “Now could you, my lovely assistant, confirm that this bag is indeed empty?”

Soobin’s hand hesitated at the opening. “Umm I’m kind of scared to reach in…”

“It’s alright! It’s completely safe I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.”

Soobin reached into the bag and fished around for a second.

“Yeah it’s empt-ARGH!” He let out a startled yell. Taehyun laughed and pulled the bag up his arm to reveal his hand holding Soobin’s.

“The bag is empty but there was a secret opening at the bottom,” he explained. He pulled his arm out of the fabric tube and held up the bag again. “So as you can see there are two openings and the bag is still indeed empty.”

He sealed the extra opening and presented the bag to Soobin again.

“Now could you please help me cast a spell on this bag?”

Soobin chuckled. He was still a bit mad about the trick just now but he couldn’t resist Taehyun. “Ok what should I do?”

“Just say ‘bibbidi bobbidi boo’ while drawing a circle in the air.”

Soobin laughed but performed the gesture shyly anyways.

“Bibbidi bobbidi boo!”

On the last syllable Taehyun whipped the fabric away to reveal a bunny plushie. A few people in the crowd let out a squeal at the cute addition to the stage. Soobin ducked his face behind his hand, smiling widely.

“Wow would you look at that! Can we please get a round of applause for my amazing assistant?”

The crowd cheered loudly.

“This little fellow is yours now as thanks for your help, please take good care of him.”

Soobin took the stuffed rabbit with a smile. He looked into Taehyun’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I will.”

“That brings me to the end of my act, thank you all very much. I haven’t performed at anything like this before but I had a lot of fun, so thank you for your support!”

He and Soobin took a bow and got off the stage. Instead of taking their seats in the front row they slipped to a table, hidden away in the back corner of the cafe, to spend some time together. The thrum and chatter of the event still filled the room but they didn’t notice it, tucked away from the rest of the world. At that moment, it was just the two of them.

“This might be really cheesy, but I got you something,” Soobin set a deck of playing cards on the table. Taehyun’s eyes sparkled as he opened the package. The cards were tinted brown and had a papery texture, the backs were decorated with intricate artwork of coffee. “I was thinking of giving them for your performance then I realized you might have specific cards you use for the tricks.”

Taehyun ran his fingers across the texture. He turned the queen of hearts in his hands, in awe of the artwork. “I love them,” Taehyun smiled.

Soobin smiled and set the plush rabbit on top of the table. He wiggled it in a little dance and waved its paw at Taehyun. “I think your gift is definitely cuter though, but it still doesn’t come close to how cute you are.”

“Choi Soobin are you flirting with me?” Taehyun placed his hand on top of Soobin’s.

“Hmm have been for a while now, thanks for noticing,” Soobin took their hands off the plush and laced their fingers together. “But I am panicking less now considering I’m flirting with my boyfriend and not just the cute barista who always gives me extra coffee.”

Looking at Soobin under the soft cafe lights, like he had so many times before, Taehyun had never felt so sure about a decision in his life. He wanted to kiss Soobin.

Taehyun leaned forward. Soobin smiled and squeezed his hand tighter. 

A loud microphone screech cut through the cafe, the two shuddered at the noise and looked to the stage to see the offenders. The list of people who had signed up to perform had finished and now random people took to the mic. The culprits were Yeonjun, Hueningkai and Beomgyu, who had started to sing karaoke. Whatever song they were singing, they were extremely into it.

“Wow, Yeonjun is really adding a run to every single note he can.”

“How many times have we been interrupted now?” Soobin sighed.

“Umm twice I think? But... third time’s the charm?”

“At your dorm was the third time… And I’m not even going to get into all the times at the cafe I thought about kissing you and lost my nerve.”

“Oh so we did almost kiss on that walk back… Wait what was the first time then? Outside the bar?”

“Taehyunnie, now you’re interrupting us,” Soobin’s voice was soft yet commanding and stopped Taehyun in his tracks.

Soobin leaned across the table and closed the distance between them. Soobin’s lips were soft, sweet and tasted like coffee. Kissing Soobin, Taehyun felt a rush of adrenaline that no espresso had ever given him.

With their hands laced together Taehyun leaned in for a second kiss, then a third, fourth, fifth. A kiss for each time they had been interrupted and then some. When the two pulled away Soobin pressed his forehead against Taehyun’s.

He felt warm, he felt like home. 

~

“There, that’s the perfect spot,” Taehyun stuck a polaroid onto his corkboard. It was a cute selca he had taken while Soobin fed ducks. It was one of many pictures the two had taken together the last couple months.

“The semester is ending in less than two weeks what’s the point? You'll just have to take it down again,” Hueningkai asked.

“Well I can enjoy looking at it for those two weeks then can’t I?”

Soobin leaned over and ruffled Taehyun’s hair. “You look so cute in this one.”

“You’re cuter,” Taehyun leaned over and pecked his boyfriend on the cheek.

“Ugh please get a room that doesn’t have me in it,” Hueningkai complained.

“Aren’t you two still planning on rooming together in the dorms next year? I’m sorry Huening but you’ll just have to get used to it.”

Taehyun laughed and cuddled up to Soobin on the bed while Hueningkai returned his attention back to his phone. He stared up at the new photo he had added to his collection. Along with the pictures he’d previously had up, there was now an impressive collage of Soobin, the two of them, and all five of them together.

Hueningkai’s finals had finished earlier that week and he had managed to pass all of his courses. Of course he had excelled in his studio courses, but he had gotten help studying for the others from the power couple Taehyun and Soobin. Taehyun’s last final would be in a few days then he would be free to enjoy a carefree summer with his boyfriend and friends. Since Yeonjun had a car, the five of them had decided they would take a road trip. Taehyun could tell that Beomgyu was plotting something to ensnare Yeonjun like the pining idiot he was. Probably a summer long multiple step plan straight out of a teenage rom com.

“Hey Taehyun, what are you thinking about?” Soobin's voice rumbled next to Taehyun’s ear.

“Hmm, just how lucky I am to have friends, and a boyfriend, like this,” He snuggled deeper against Soobin’s chest. Soobin wrapped his arms tighter around him in response.

Taehyun peeked up from Soobin’s chest to see Soobin’s eyes already meeting his, as if he had known Taehyun would look at him or he had been looking anyways.

Eyes that were as deep and warm as the coffee he served at the cafe, the coffee that brought them together. If Soobin was coffee Taehyun wondered what that made him. Maybe he was iced coffee, defrosted by that warmth. Or maybe he was a sweet pastry, so different from the bitter coffee but absolutely perfect together. Or maybe Taehyun was the bitter coffee and Soobin was the mug who became his home.

Taehyun leaned up and pressed his lips against Soobin’s. He reciprocated the kiss and Taehyun melted into his arms.

Of course it didn’t matter what coffee metaphor he was, that wouldn’t affect the fact that he was his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's the end! Thank you so much to everyone who read. I had so much fun writing this and I'll definitely continue writing in the future! There may be a sequel to this in the works focusing on a certain chaotic cafe employee, time will tell *eye emoji*  
> Please leave comments or talk to me on twitter with your thoughts or if you just want to chat! Since I am a new writer I'm looking to improve so any feedback is welcome if you have any <3  
> Again thank you all so much for reading and dreaminglows I hope you enjoyed it <3


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